| VOL. XXXI | JUNE 1 | No. 11 |
'I will stand upon my watch, and set my foot upon the Tower, and will watch to see what He shall say unto me, and what answer I shall make to them that oppose me.' Hab. 2:1
Upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity: the sea and the waves (the restless, discontented) roaring: men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking forward to the things coming upon the earth (society): for the powers of the heavens (ecclestiasticism) shall be shaken. . . .When ye see these things come to pass, then know that the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Look up, lift up your heads, rejoice, for your redemption draweth nigh. – Luke 21:25-28, 32.
Our "Berean Lessons" are topical rehearsals or reviews of our Society's published "Studies," most entertainingly arranged, and very helpful to all who would merit the only honorary degree which the Society accords, viz., Verbi Dei Minister (V.D.M.), which translated into English is, Minister of the Divine Word. Our treatment of the International S.S. Lessons is specially for the older Bible Students and Teachers. By some this feature is considered indispensable.
This Journal stands firmly for the defence of the only true foundation of the Christian's hope now being so generally repudiated, – Redemption through the precious blood of "the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom [a corresponding price, a substitute] for all." (I Pet. 1:19; I Tim. 2:6.) Building up on this sure foundation the gold, silver and precious stones (I Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Pet. 1:5-11) of the Word of God, its further mission is to – "Make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery which...has been hid in God,...to the intent that now might be made known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God" – "which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed." – Eph. 3:5-9,10.
It stands free from all parties, sects and creeds of men, while it seeks more and more to bring its every utterance into fullest subjection to the will of God in Christ, as expressed in the Holy Scriptures. It is thus free to declare boldly whatsoever the Lord hath spoken; – according to the divine wisdom granted unto us, to understand. Its attitude is not dogmatical, but confident; for we know whereof we affirm, treading with implicit faith upon the sure promises of God. It is held as a trust, to be used only in his service; hence our decisions relative to what may and what may not appear in its columns must be according to our judgment of his good pleasure, the teaching of his Word, for the upbuilding of his people in grace and knowledge. And we not only invite but urge our readers to prove all its utterances by the infallible Word to which reference is constantly made, to facilitate such testing.
Foreign Agencies: – British Branch: 24 Eversholt St., London, N.W. German Branch: Unterdorner Str., 76, Barmen. Australasian Branch: Equitable Building, Collins St., Melbourne.
Terms to the Lord's Poor as Follows: – All Bible Students who, by reason of old age, or other infirmity or adversity, are unable to pay for this Journal, will be supplied Free if they send a Postal Card each May stating their case and requesting its continuance. We are not only willing, but anxious, that all such be on our list continually and in touch with the Studies, etc.
1910 – VOLUNTEER MATTER – 1910
"What Is the Soul?" as the leading article and the entire "Do You Know?" Tract – both in PEOPLES PULPIT – comprise this year's Volunteer literature. It is awakening interest in many sections hitherto unheard from.
Four million copies have been requested by the friends thus far – and they are being rapidly sent out. Those who have not yet ordered their supply, and others who require more, will assist us by advising at once how many required, so that we may have more printed.
This blessed work of a thorough distribution is reaching many of the Truth-famished – those who are "hungering and thirsting after righteousness." Ardent letters of gratitude for the little paper left at their door are received daily from those thus refreshed. May God continue to bless the Volunteers.
| BROOKLYN BETHEL HYMNS FOR JULY |
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After the close of the hymn the Bethel Family listens to the reading of "My Vow Unto the Lord," then joins in prayer. At the breakfast table the MANNA text is considered: (1) Vow; (2) 105; (3) 49; (4) 246; (5) 222; (6) 303; (7) 145; (8) 135; (9) 188; (10) 7; (11) 286; (12) 93; (13) 247; (14) 281; (15) 209; (16) 95; (17) 242; (18) 123; (19) 60; (20) 27; (21) 67; (22) 77; (23) 9; (24) 25; (25) 327; (26) 152; (27) 107; (28) 37; (29) 113; (30) 325; (31) 216. |
SERIES I., The Plan of the Ages, gives an outline of the divine plan revealed in the Bible, relating to man's redemption and restitution: 386 pages, in embossed cloth, 25c. (1s. ½d.) India paper edition, 75c. (3s. 1½d.).
This volume has been published as a special issue of our journal – at the extremely low price of 5c. a copy, in any quantity, postage included. (To foreign countries, 9c.) This enables people of slender purse to herald far and wide the good tidings in a most helpful form.
SERIES II., The Time is at Hand, treats of the manner and time of the Lord's second coming, considering the Bible Testimony on this subject: 370 pages, in embossed cloth, 25c. (1s. ½d.) India paper edition, 75c. (3s. 1½d.)
SERIES III., Thy Kingdom Come, considers prophecies which mark events connected with the "Time of the End," the glorification of the Church and the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom; it also contains a chapter of the Great Pyramid, showing its corroboration of the dates and other teachings of the Bible: 384 pages, in embossed cloth, 25c. (1s. ½d.) India paper edition, 75c. (3s. 1½d.)
SERIES IV., The Day of Vengeance, shows that the dissolution of the present order of things is in progress, and that all the panaceas offered are valueless to avert the predicted end. It marks in these events the fulfilment of prophecy, noting specially our Lord's great prophecy of Matt. 24 and Zech. 14:1-9: 660 pages, in embossed cloth, 30c. (1s. 3d.). India paper edition, 85c (3s. 6½d.)
SERIES V., The At-one-ment Between God and Man, treats an all-important subject – the hub, the center around which all the features of divine grace revolve. Its topic deserves the most careful and prayerful consideration on the part of all true Christians: 507 pages, in embossed cloth, 30c. (1s. 3d.) India paper edition, 85c (3s. 6½d.)
SERIES VI., The New Creation, deals with the Creative Week (Genesis 1 and 2), and with the Church, God's "New Creation." It examines the personnel, organization, rites, ceremonies, obligations and hopes appertaining to those called and accepted as members of the Body under the Head: 740 pages, in embossed cloth, 30c. (1s. 3d.) India paper edition, 85c (3s. 6½d.)
The above prices include postage.
IN FULL LEATHER BINDING, gilt edges, the set (6 vols.) $3.00, (12s. 6d.), plus postage, 60c (1s.).
Is also published in foreign languages as follows: In German, five vol.; in Swedish Vols. 1, 2, 3, and 5; in Dano-Norwegian, three vols.; in Greek three vols.; in French, two vols.; in Hollandish, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian and Polish, one vol. each; bound in cloth, uniform with English edition, prices the same.
Vol. 6, German and Swedish (WATCH TOWER form), $1.50 each.
Upon seeing the announcement a number of friends in different parts of the country advised us of their desire to make the journey at the same time, if we were willing. We assured them that all had the same opportunity, and that we would be glad of their company, if the Lord's Providences seemed to open the way for them. Thus it happened that our company leaving New York numbered twenty-one, seventeen in addition to our own party, which consisted of Brother Driscoll, representative of the Press Association; Brother L. W. Jones, who served us as stenographer on the Atlantic, and Brother Rutherford, who served as stenographer on the Mediterranean, and who will visit the friends in Denmark, Sweden and Norway while we are in Great Britain and who will follow us in Great Britain, reaching home about a month or so later than we.
The friends who accompanied us were Brother and Sister Davault, of Illinois; Brother and Sister Ward and son, of Maryland; Brother and Sister Owens, and Sisters Cobb and Noble, of New York; Sisters Frost, Paschal and Houston, of Texas; Brother Pierson, of Connecticut; Brothers Wilson and Young, of Oklahoma; Sister Jackson, of Canada; Brother Koetitz, of Germany, the latter joining our party in Switzerland, where, and subsequently, he served as our interpreter. We had the pleasure also of Sister Rutherford's company as far as Paris.
As our vessel left her dock at New York upwards of one hundred and fifty of the New York Church waved us good-bye and sang for us several of the precious Hymns of Dawn. The incident was very impressive for us, as well as for others, and surely served to tighten the bonds of Christian love which unite all of our hearts. The upturned faces of the friends evidenced their love and zeal, their fellowship with the Master and with us. Our hearts were made glad by this manifestation of Christian fellowship, and we assure them all that not only they who were at the shore were remembered in our prayers, but all of the dear ones everywhere, for we well knew that our itinerary, having been published in THE WATCH TOWER, prayers would be ascending for us and for God's blessing upon our journey – from many hearts, from many lands.
Our journey was uneventful to Cherbourg, except that we had a little fog part of the way and a little rough weather. However, God graciously preserved us from any serious illness and we landed happy and well, a day later than anticipated, spending the night on the boat instead of in Paris. However, Paris had few attractions for us. Here, and to the end of our journey, we were rendered valuable assistance by the Tourist Agency of T. Cook & Son, through whom our tickets were purchased.
At Berne we met some of the French and German friends, to whom we spoke of the gracious things of the Divine Plan. We noted the Covenant of Grace, under which the Church is being developed as the Body of Christ, the Spiritual Seed of Abraham, and Israel's Law Covenant, and also the New Covenant which will succeed it in due time for the blessing of Israel and through Israel all the families of the earth. After speaking to the friends for nearly four hours, and we trust proving of some assistance to them and comfort and joy in the Lord, we departed for Zurich, where we had a very pleasant season of fellowship with about sixty or more of German-Swiss friends, to whom we spoke for about two hours. We departed from them with many remembrances of their loving attention and kind words, which we understood [R4621 : page 180] through the interpreter, but read still more particularly in their eyes and general deportment.
On Wednesday we hastened through beautiful Italy to Naples and on board our ship. We had a delightful season of rest and refreshment on the sea before reaching Alexandria and then Cairo. The chief interest of the latter place centered in the Pyramid. Since we visited it eighteen years ago several of the casing stones have been found at the base of the Pyramid by the removal of the rubbish which had covered them for centuries. Inside the Pyramid there was also a change. The Brothers Edgar, of Scotland, visited the Pyramid last year to go over the measurements of its passageways, and incidentally they had the downward passage cleared of the rubbish which had accumulated in its mouth, entirely hiding it. The downward passage from its juncture with the ascending passage is now closed with an iron gate for the safety of those who enter the Pyramid. By the kindness of Dr. Edgar, who introduced us to an Arab Sheik (Judah Fide) of the vicinity, we were privileged to have the gate opened and through it to enter the subterranean chamber.
We went all over the structure again – not, however, with the view of taking measurements, for these, we believe, have already been taken more accurately than instruments then at our command would permit. We merely reviewed this Great Witness to the Lord of hosts and recalled to mind its testimony, which we have already presented to our readers in the last chapter of the third volume of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES. We again noted with admiration the exactness of the construction of this wonderful "pillar in the land of Egypt." In many places immense stones are so neatly joined together as to make it difficult to find the joint. The quarry from which these large lime-stones were evidently taken has been located to the southeast of the city of Cairo near the old city and citadel. But as for the immense red granite blocks used for the King's chamber and above it, no such stones are found within hundreds of miles – up the Nile.
There was nothing else of special interest to us in that vicinity, except a trip a little further south in the vicinity of ancient Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt, the ruins of which have been partially uncovered. There we were in the vicinity of the city of On, from which Joseph got his wife, and near the place of his severe trial, testing and exaltation. We called to mind the fact of his being a type of the sufferings of Christ and the coming exaltation of Head and members in the Kingdom of the Father.
Embarking at Alexandria again, our thoughts preceded us to Jaffa, ancient Joppa, and to Jerusalem. But arriving at Jaffa we met with a great disappointment. The wind of the night before caused great swells of the sea toward the shore, which made it perilous for the launching of the landing boats for the passengers. The rockiness of the shore also added to the danger. The strength of the waves seemed likely to dash the boats against the rocks regardless of the skill of the boatmen, and the Jaffa boatmen are noted as being amongst the most skillful in the world. Arriving before noon we waited and waited, but no boats ventured out. The signals from the shore indicated that the Government would not permit the risk of life in landing the passengers. The captain of our vessel stated that he could not possibly delay his sailing for the next port beyond 6 p.m., and there were no signs that the weather would improve in the interim.
Of course, this caused considerable disappointment, as we had earnestly desired, and surely expected, that we would celebrate the Lord's Memorial Supper in the Holy City in which the Master first broke the bread and drank the cup and gave to his disciples. As we thought the matter over, we concluded that the Lord was giving us a test of faith, and particularly a test of obedience. Would we murmur or complain if he should hinder us from landing, or would we be content with whatever we should see and realize as his guiding hand? Would we learn the lesson which he would teach us? We passed the word around amongst our company of nineteen, increased to twenty by Brother Hall, of the Oriental Commerce Company, who met us and greatly assisted in our journey at the suggestion of some of our mutual friends at London [R4622 : page 180] who had written him respecting us. We all went to the Lord in prayer, telling him that while indeed we would be disappointed, we nevertheless would be submissive and neither murmur nor complain whatever might be the decision of Divine Providence, but if it pleased the Master to permit us to land we would accept this as a special mark of Divine interposition and favor and render thanks accordingly. You will be glad to learn that about 5 o'clock the captain received a signal from shore that if he would come a little nearer the boats would come to us. Thus at 6:10 p.m. we were safely on the boats, and half an hour later safely ashore. We all gave the Lord more earnest thanks and appreciated the more our privileges by reason of this little test of submissiveness, we are sure.
We spent the night at Jaffa and took the early morning train for Jerusalem, where we arrived at noon in the midst of a rain and hail storm, declared to be very unusual for the season. But the storm not only settled the dust, but gave us pleasant, cool weather for our visit to the Holy City and surroundings. Brother and Sister Thompson, Colporteurs, met us here. For the past two years they have been living in Australia, later visiting some of the cities of India and Egypt. They came to Jerusalem to Colporteur and in time to meet us. They will remain there for some time as representatives of the Society to scatter seeds of Truth and to water seeds already planted and in general to help forward the cause of the harvest work of the Great Reaper, whom we all love to serve.
Of course, we visited "the Jews' wailing-place" and sympathized with the poor people who there were reading the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations and "waiting for the consolation of Israel." We rejoiced to know from the Divine Word that their expectations will be more than fully realized shortly now. How glad we felt for them! We visited the place of Pilate's Judgment Hall, where our Master was tried and saw some of the very pavement where the Roman soldiers whiled away the time in playing games, the marks for the games being clearly legible in the cement pavement recently uncovered. We noted the Mohammedan Mosque which covers the site of the Temple, but we were not permitted to enter it, because the time was one of special religious fervor among the Mohammedans, also because of the fact that not long since a fanatic had done injury to a visitor.
A little "baksheesh" gained us admission to some of the native homes, which consist usually of one or two rooms. We were surprised at the entire cleanliness of the inside, the more so because the streets are in a very filthy condition. A journey to Bethlehem, the place of [R4622 : page 181] our Savior's birth, was also in order and proved of interest; also a visit to the Dead Sea and to the fords of the Jordan River, where John baptized Jesus, and then to the city of Jericho. On our journey we saw the Brook Chereth, where the Prophet Elijah hid himself for a considerable portion of the three and a half years in which the drought and famine prevailed in the land of Israel. The brook for a considerable distance passes between the high walls of the mountains, in which there are various cliffs and caves occupied by hermits, and at one point there is a Monastery of considerable size under the control of the Greek Catholic church. On this trip we remembered our Lord's parable respecting the good Samaritan and the man who on this road fell among thieves. We had frequently read with astonishment the statement that the Samaritan took out two pence and paid it to the inn-keeper for the care of the wounded man until he would come again. The sum seemed ridiculously small, but when we remember that two pence at that time represented two days' wages, and further when we noticed the character of the inns, that they are ordinary in the extreme, we comprehended the situation.
Our experience on the evening of the Memorial Supper was most peculiar. The "upper room," which tradition indicates is the one which Jesus and his Apostles used for the celebration of the Memorial Supper, is under the control of Mohammedans. When the time came for us to occupy the room, we were first advised that no chairs could be brought in and that no table could be had, but we were promised rugs for the floor that we might recline after the manner of Jesus and the Apostles, for it would appear that the majority use no tables, but merely lie down upon the floor with their heads toward the center and rest there upon one arm while feeding themselves with the other from a central dish. Later word reached us that we must be very quiet and not indulge in any singing. These restrictions excited our suspicions that there must be a reason for all of this. Nevertheless, at the appointed hour we went to the place.
Our coming attracted the attention of some of the Mohammedans, who rushed wildly hither and thither, gesticulating and objecting, not to us, but to our guide, who had arranged for the use of the room. Seeing the excitement that was being caused, we thought best to indicate the peaceableness of our intentions by quietly withdrawing. We realized that if the fanatical Mohammedans had shouted that the holy place of Mohammed was being desecrated by the Christian dogs, hundreds of deluded people would rush out upon us from every direction and without the intervention of a miracle would injure or kill some or all of us.
We learned later that the room is owned by about fifty Moslems and only two or three had agreed to rent it to us, and that the objection to our presence was raised by others who had an interest in the property and the right to forbid our use of it. Explanations were made that the room had been used by various religious denominations for the commemoration of the Lord's Supper, but that difficulties had arisen and all had been forbidden further use of it years ago. To have given us the use of it now, they claimed, would have opened up afresh the controversy which had already been settled, forbidding the use of the room for such purposes.
The evening was showery, but we determined, nevertheless, to go to the Garden of Gethsemane, where our Master and the Apostles were on that memorable night nearly nineteen centuries ago – the garden of our Master's agony and bloody sweat. By unanimous vote the company desired to partake of the Memorial emblems in that sacred spot, which perhaps was never used for such a purpose before. In a drizzling rain we considered the meaning of the bread, representing the broken body of Jesus, and secondly, as explained by the Apostle Paul, the entire Church which is the Body of Christ – the One Loaf which we break. We considered also the cup, which primarily represents the life which our Lord poured out in behalf of us and the world, and which, secondarily, represents to us the wonderful privilege of participating in the sufferings of Christ by drinking of his cup, in becoming partakers of the afflictions of Christ. We recognized also the glory that would follow in the drinking of the cup anew in the Father's Kingdom under those blessed conditions. We recounted how the Loaf now being broken shall in God's Providence be the bread for the whole world of mankind.
Our hearts were very glad notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather. We offered prayer and thanks for the blessed occasion and the blessed things commemorated, remembering that the Lord's dear ones everywhere were similarly commemorating, or would commemorate, the sufferings of Christ as our Passover slain for us. In quiet tones we sung a verse and then departed with joyful, thankful hearts. The experiences of that evening will surely never fade from our memories, but always speak to us with force of the Lamb of God, who died for the sins of the world, and of our privilege of sharing with him in his sacrifice and as his members and of being glorified with him in the accomplishment of the great work secured through his death.
Our last day in Jerusalem was Sunday, April 24th. It will always be green in our memories this side the vail and doubtless beyond. We visited the Mount of Olives and then traversed the Bethany road, which Jesus and his Apostles so often passed over. We noted the brook Kedron outside the city gate and crossed it. We were especially interested in and impressed by that particular part of the Bethany road where Jesus rode upon the ass accompanied by his disciples and the multitude shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David," also in the spot where our Master stopped the procession when he came in view of the city, and there, weeping over it, declared that Israel's house was left unto her desolate, and that they should see him no more until the day when they would gladly acclaim him their King. Twice we visited this spot and rejoiced in spirit as we thought of the fact that the time for the opening of the eyes of Israel and of all the families of the earth is now at hand. Thank God for the assurance that "then all the blind eyes shall be opened and all the deaf ears shall be unstopped"!
Mr. Hall, acting under advice and suggestions of our mutual friends at London, had engaged a large public hall and had advertised that we would speak there on Sunday afternoon. It should be remarked here that the progressive element of the population includes those of European birth and these and the American colony reside in that part of the city which is outside the wall, where everything is much more progressive than inside the wall. Our audience was composed of this progressive class, Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Mohammedans. Our hearts went out to them in sympathy as we thought how error has separated millions of honest-minded people of every nationality and class. We rejoiced in the thought of the coming time of Divine favor – "Times of refreshing [R4623 : page 182] from the presence of the Lord, when he shall send Jesus Christ, who before was preached, and whom the heavens must retain until the Times of Restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." – Acts 3:19-21.
We spoke for awhile along the lines of the Message of the Angel at Bethlehem, telling of "the good tidings of great joy which shall be unto all people." We reverted to the fact that all people of all religious beliefs are looking for and hoping for the coming of the Great Deliverer, and that the great deliverance and the desire of all nations is near at hand. Then we spoke more particularly to the Jews, using as our text the "Double" mentioned by the Prophets Jeremiah, Zechariah and Isaiah, explaining how the double of Israel's experiences would reach full accomplishment in 1915 and that there Divine favor for the Jews would be manifested and subsequently all the gracious promises made to them would have fulfillment. We showed that the promises which belong to the Church are spiritual and separate and distinct from those made to Abraham, the prophets and Israel, but that the blessings of Israel are necessarily delayed until the promises made to Spiritual Israel shall reach accomplishment, and that this would be fulfilled during the time of Israel's second experience or double.
The owner of the hall is a converted Jew. He seemed wonderfully interested and astonished at the simplicity of the Divine Program as outlined. He is the editor of a paper published at Jerusalem and printed in the Arabic language, and has received Government permission also to publish a paper in the Hebrew language. He has been waiting for this for fourteen years. He received this permission just in time to begin the announcement of the good tidings of great joy to all people through God's New Covenant with Israel. He will at once begin the investigation of the STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES. His wife and another friend are deeply interested also. Another Hebrew Christian, formerly a minister, now superannuated, was present. He and his wife expressed very deep interest and full sympathy with all that they heard, and will begin reading at once along these lines. Thus with Brother and Sister Thompson at work, there is already a nucleus for the starting of a Berean Bible Class in the City of the Great King.
Other influential Jews were reported present and gave close attention. One of these, Doctor Levy, is the general manager and a very leading spirit among the Zionists of Palestine. He expressed a very keen interest in what he heard and said, "Alas, few of you Christian people hold such kind and liberal views toward the Hebrews!" He declared his intention of investigating the STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES, and in various ways gave evidence of his earnestness and sincerity. He suggested that he would write to some of his Jewish friends in America and invite attention to the message which he had heard. He remarked to one of his friends, "Surely the speaker of the occasion is a Prophet whom the Lord has raised up to set forth this message."
Leaving Jerusalem the next morning we remembered the words of the Psalmist, "Go about the city, mark well her bulwarks"; and again his words, "As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth and forever." (Psa. 125:2.) We can well see that the city of Jerusalem, located as it is, in the top of the mountains, and flanked by them in every direction, would be a difficult one for an enemy to successfully attack. The mountain roads would be difficult of approach because easily defended. The suggestion of the Prophet that the Lord is as a fortress and protection to his people under every adverse influence, is a beautiful one which all can appreciate.
Returning to Jaffa we found time to visit the house of Simon the tanner by the seaside. There stood the old stone trough such as was used by tanners in working out their leather. From all appearances it may have stood there for centuries. The building is surely not the same one that Simon lived in, on the housetop of which St. Peter had the vision of the sheet let down full of all manner of four-footed creatures. Nevertheless, in all probability it is the old building repaired and, in general appearance, size, etc., its counterpart. We also visited the tomb of Dorcas; respecting its identity there seems to be comparatively little doubt. – Acts 9:36.
We were much interested in the orange groves of Jaffa, which seem thrifty and prosperous. The fruit is among the best we have ever eaten. The demand for these oranges, we understand, is chiefly from Great Britain and Egypt. Already the country is beginning to resume a prosperous condition, so graphically described in the Bible by the words, "a land flowing with milk and honey."
Mr. Hall called our attention to a new traction engine and gang plow which plows twelve furrows at one time and harrows and seeds the ground at the same time. Its capacity is forty acres per day and it can be used subsequently in connection with the reaping and the threshing of the grain. It seems astounding that this land, which at one bound emerges from the use of a crooked stick for plowing, takes up the most modern plow in the world, the cost of which is $7,500.
On our return journey the vessel stopped at Port Said, and we concluded to embrace the opportunity to have a look at the land of Goshen, and at the course which the Israelites took when they left there for the Promised Land. Our train brought us to Ismailia, formerly known as Succoth, one of the assembling points of the Israelites in their flight. The train between Ismailia and Port Abraham took us along the line of the Suez Canal, where evidently at one time the Red Sea prolonged itself into the Bitter Lakes. Undoubtedly we traversed the very ground over which the host of Israel passed in their flight from Pharaoh. Not yet content, we engaged passage across the northernmost part of the Red Sea, called the Gulf of Suez, and on the other side rode for about three hours on donkeys until we came to the springs of Moses, the traditional spot where the Israelites, thirsty, found brackish water, which Moses made sweet by thrusting a tree into it. How wonderful it seemed to have before our very eyes the corroboration of the Bible narrative! It was strengthening to our faith; we trust the record of it will be helpful to many.
By the way, we here remark that it is not at all necessary to exaggerate the miracle of the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites by supposing that it was at the widest part, nor is it necessary to suppose that its waters stood up like a garden wall on either side of the Israelites' pathway as they crossed. A wall is a barrier, and anything which will serve as a barricade is properly enough described as a wall. The Bible record is that God caused a strong east wind to blow, and, standing on the spot, we could imagine how the sea, where the Suez canal now is, was once an effectual barrier to the Israelites, hindering their progress, and that under Divine Providence the wind could very easily make bare a sandbar and provide the necessary crossing, and that a reversal of the wind would cause the return of the waters [R4623 : page 183] to their former place, overwhelming the Egyptians. Alas! that humanity in general is so much more disposed to discredit the Bible history and accept instead, the suggestions of the Babylonians and Egyptians. Thus far our confidence in the Bible as the inspired record of the Divine Plan of the Ages grows stronger day by day.
As we write we are on the Mediterranean approaching Naples, and have received advice informing us that we are advertised to speak in the city of Rome May 1st in the chapel of the Y.M.C.A. If such be the Divine will we shall be glad; if not, we shall be content and go on our journey seeking others who have a hearing ear, and for such opportunities as the Divine Providence may indicate. Of these we hope to write you later.
"For this cause he [Christ] is the Mediator of the New Testament [Covenant], that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first Testament [Covenant], they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance." – Heb. 9:15.
In his Epistle to the Hebrews St. Paul wished the Christian Hebrew brethren to take the larger, broader, truer thought respecting the Law Covenant and everything pertaining to it – its sacrifices, its mediator, its Law. He wished them to recognize it as merely a typical Covenant; that it prefigured a New Covenant; that its mediator typified a better Mediator, The Christ; that its bulls and goats of sin-offering typified the better sacrifices by which the New Covenant would become operative, the better sacrifices being those of the better Mediator – Jesus the Head and the Church his Body.
St. Paul had already pointed out that the privileges of this Gospel Age, so far as the Church is concerned, are chiefly those of sacrifice – that "if we suffer with Christ, we shall reign with him; if we be dead with him, we shall live with him"; that we must seek to copy him in self-denial and self-sacrifice and be baptized into his death, if we would share his Kingly honor, his service as the great Prophet, Priest, and King of the Millennial Age, to bless Israel and all the families of the earth.
In his endeavor to make this matter plain (Hebrews 9:13,14), St. Paul points out that before the Law Covenant went into effect, it was necessary that blood should be shed; saying, "For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" Here is a contrast between the institution of the Law Dispensation, the Law Covenant, and the institution of the New Covenant. And the first effect of this better blood which is to seal the New Covenant is to cleanse our consciences from dead works. The Apostle does not here refer to it as having been for all Israel, but for those Jews who had become Christians but had been bound by the Law previously, that they might see that now the true sacrifice had come; that this was sufficient to satisfy all the claims of Justice and put away from their minds all consciousness of sin, to assure them that all of their sins were thus covered and that they might now render acceptable service to the living God. "And for this same cause [that is, because his blood was sufficient to cancel all sin] he is the Mediator of the New Testament." He has not only purged us from a consciousness of sin, that we may serve God and become members of the Body of Christ and accept him as our Advocate and trust in his finished work on our behalf, but he has by the same sacrifice made such an arrangement with God and with Justice as will constitute him the Mediator of the New Covenant for all Israel. The Apostle is not here saying that the New Covenant is operative now, nor that we are under this Covenant; quite to the contrary. He is speaking of the Jewish nation, as we shall see.
The remainder of the fifteenth verse (Heb. 9) declares, "By means of death for the redemption of transgressions that were under the first Testament [or Law Covenant], they which are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." We are not, therefore, to consider the ones here "called" as referring to those who receive the High Calling – joint-heirship with Christ, the Spiritual Seed of Abraham – but we are to understand the Apostle here to mean the Jewish nation that was called – all of this Jewish nation who would come into accord with the Divine arrangement. The same Apostle (Rom. 11:27) says, "For the gifts and the calling of God are not to be repented of." That is to say, God having called the Jewish nation to be his peculiar people, having made them definite promises respecting the blessing of all nations, has no thought or intention of abrogating those promises. Every Covenant, every promise that God has ever made and every thing that he has ever done, he has foreknown its full import and its results, and he has done nothing hastily. Israel, therefore, is the nation which he has foreknown to be the one he will use in connection with his work of blessing all of the families of the earth; as the Apostle says (Romans 11:27), "For this is my Covenant with them, when I shall take away their sins."
In the 25th verse of the same chapter he informs us that the blindness upon the Jewish nation, until the fulness of the Gospel Church has come in, is a Mystery. [R4624 : page 184] God is now gathering out only a special few of the Jews and a special few from all nations to constitute the Spiritual Israel, to whom appertain the highest feature of this Abrahamic Covenant or promise; and then, as soon as this Spiritual Israel, which will constitute the Prophet, Priest and King, is complete, the Deliverer – taken from Jew and Gentile – shall come forth. That will be the fulfillment of the promise that "the Deliverer shall come forth out of Zion and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob," for this is God's Covenant with them, with the seed of Jacob; as we read (Jer. 31:31), "After those days, saith the Lord, I will make a New Covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah." This thought is confirmed when we consider the fact that the Gospel Church were not all under the first Testament or first Covenant, but only the Jewish nation.
The trend of the Apostle's argument, therefore, is that Christ, the Mediator of the New Testament, becomes such by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions under the first Testament, or Law Covenant. In other words, the Jewish nation needed to be redeemed in a special manner before God could use it as his channel for blessing the other nations.
Since the Mediatorial work of the Millennial Kingdom is to be accomplished through natural Israel, and since all the families of the earth are to be blessed through them, it follows that nothing can be done until Israel shall have been recovered from their present outcast condition. Then the blessing of the Lord will go forth and the Mediatorial work will be accomplished through natural Israel. We are to distinguish between the work to be done through this nation and the One who will do that work. It will be the Mediator of the New Covenant who will have the power to confer the blessings – the Great High Priest, the Great Prophet, the Great King, the Great Mediator. There could be no blessing outside of this Great One; and this Great One, as the Apostle Paul and all the other Apostles clearly show, is composed of Jesus the Head and the Church his Body.
No doubt many Jews are now faithless and unbelieving because of the long period of blindness upon them, and perhaps in their hearts are hungering after the promises. When the light of the New Dispensation shall begin to dawn upon the world; when they shall begin to see the resurrected Ancient Worthies as recipients of Divine favor; when they shall see their brethren beginning to be blessed under the ministration of this new Kingdom, then many of the Jews who are now blinded and unbelieving will manifest true faith and be obedient and turn unto the Lord. But we are not to understand that any one will become an Israelite unless he has the faith of Abraham, sincere faith, trust in God, faith that will be manifested by obedience.
Then, as the people of the various nations shall gather themselves to the Lord and seek to come into harmony with him, the way of approach will be by coming into accord with the Holy Nation – God's representative Kingdom in the world – and thus they will come into harmony with the Spiritual Christ, the Great Prophet, Priest and King. Eventually, by the close of the Millennial Age, those who prove faithful will be turned over to God, even the Father. Such will then be fully in accord with Jehovah and fully in Covenant relationship with him.
The New Covenant is not to be made with any others than the Jews, for no others were in Covenant relationship with God. The words "New Covenant" seem, therefore, to indicate the repetition of God's favor to Israel under the better Mediator, who will bring the glorious blessings that they had expected under Moses, but failed to obtain because of the inability of Moses to make satisfaction for their sins; for the blood of bulls and goats could never actually take away their sins. The antitypes of these, the sacrifice of the Lord and the members of his Body, must first be accomplished before this New Covenant with Israel could supersede the old or Law Covenant, which it then will do.
Hebrews 9:16 reads: "For where a Testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator." In the case of Moses the death of the Testator was represented by the slaying of the bullock and the goat. In the case of the Antitypical Moses, the death of the Testator is shown in the sacrifice of our Lord and the Church his Body. The ability of Christ to give a Testament or Covenant, or to make a Covenant, should also be seen. As the man Jesus he could not make this Covenant. Why? Because as a man – not spirit-begotten – he could merely have given his human life for mankind and then would have had nothing left for himself; or if he had retained his earthly life he could have established only an earthly Kingdom and never could have given eternal life to any one subsequently. He might have blessed them with wise laws and regulations and improved conditions [R4625 : page 184] over the present time, but never could have given them life and the perfections and blessings that he will be able to give under the New Covenant.
In order to be a Testator and give eternal life to the world, it was necessary that our Lord should carefully follow the Plan that God had arranged: First, by his own obedience he should demonstrate his loyalty to God and receive life on the divine plane as his reward; second, that then, by taking up his human life which he did not forfeit in anywise, he should have that human life and its rights to give to Israel and through them to all mankind. He is thus a Testator. He is thus one who bequeaths something to others. He bequeaths it not while he is alive, as a gift, but he gives it as a Testator, as that with which he parts in death. So our Lord Jesus, as the Great Mediator of the New Covenant, will give to mankind the human rights and privileges to which he had a right by virtue of his perfect obedience to the Divine Law. He invites us, not to share those rights with the world, not to come under his Mediatorial reign and be sharers in restitution privileges, but, according to the will of God, to do something else, viz., to join with him in becoming Testator, to lay down our lives and thus be sharers with him in the spirit of his great work, that we may also share with him in the actual features of that work during the Millennium.
The very first difficulty encountered is that we, unlike him, have not perfect bodies that we could give as perfect sacrifices; hence God's arrangement for those who have this sacrificing attitude of mind is that they may be dealt with by the Lord Jesus and that he may, as their Advocate, impute to them his merit, his restitution rights, to make up for, to off-set, their blemishes and imperfections, that they may offer unto God a sacrifice that would be pleasing. We see that he does not give to these who are now called, either the Mediatorial blessings of the Millennial Age or the restitution conditions which that Mediatorial reign will confer. He gives to them that which will serve his purpose for them much better; viz., an imputation of his merit for past sins, to allow their [R4625 : page 185] sacrifice to pass the Divine propitiatory satisfactorily. Even then their sacrifice would prove imperfect and unsatisfactory because of inability to carry it out to a completion, did he not continue to be their Advocate. With every blemish and imperfection that is unwillingly theirs they can go to him as their Advocate and obtain mercy and have the cleansing from all sin through the merit of his sacrifice.
Thus we see the great Testament which is in Christ's blood and to which he refers, saying, "This is my blood of the New Testament." Instead of applying that blood of the New Testament to the world or to Israel, he applied it first for the Church. It must all pass through the Church, so to speak. "Drink ye all of it"; be ye all sharers in my cup, for unless ye are sharers in my cup, ye cannot be sharers in my life. It is his cup; and he gives us a share of it. We are not worthy to have any direct dealings with the Father, but the Father, nevertheless, had us in mind from "before the foundation of the world," as the Apostle says. (Eph. 1:4.) Hence we are not to understand the Mystery – the selection of the Church, the Body of Christ – as being an amplification of the original Divine Plan, but merely the carrying out of a part of that Plan not previously disclosed or revealed.
So, then, it requires all of the Gospel Age for the Church of Christ to drink of his "cup" and be "baptized into his death." When the last member shall have drunk of this cup and shall have been baptized into his death, and shall have finished his course, then all the sufferings of the Priest, Head and Body, will have been accomplished – the sufferings to which the Lord refers through the prophets as "the sufferings of Christ and the glory that shall follow." The sufferings began with the Head and have continued all the way down to all the members of the Body; and as soon as these sufferings shall have been finished The Christ will be crowned with glory, honor and immortality beyond the vail.
When we drink of this cup of the New Testament – his blood or sacrificed life – we have communion [participation] in the death of Christ. (I Cor. 10:16,17.) We are also to be participants in his special life on the divine plane (I John 3:2), and thus sharers with him in this work of making the Testament, or Covenant, which will go to Israel and through Israel to the world. This is further admitted by the Apostle in Romans 11:25-28. Speaking of the time when Israel shall be recovered from their sins, when the Deliverer, The Christ, Head and Body, "shall come forth out of Zion and turn away ungodliness from Jacob," when God will make his Covenant with them and take away their sins, the Apostle adds, "They shall obtain mercy through your mercy." – Rom. 11:31.
This will be the mercy of God operating through Jesus and the mercy of Jesus operating through the Church. So it will be God's mercy in one sense; it will be Jesus' mercy in another sense; and it will be the Church's mercy in a third sense. This mercy will go to the Jews. What mercy is this? It is this New Testament. How? Through the death of the Testator, Christ the Head, and the Church the Body. And what will Israel get by this Testament or Will? The earthly life and earthly rights which The Christ laid down in sacrifice; all will go to Israel. All those rights to life eternal, and all those things lost in Adam and redeemed by Christ, will go to Israel alone – in fact, to none of them but Israelites, indeed. So during the Millennial Age it will be necessary for all mankind to come to these people of God to get eternal life and to share in this Testament or Will of Christ – in order to become Israelites indeed, that they may thus be heirs of this Will, which gives eternal human life and all the earthly rights which Jesus had and sacrificed, and which he imputed to us, and allowed us to join in sacrificing together with him.
"If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death. I do not say that he shall pray for it." – I John 5:16.
This is different from praying for the world – asking God to accept and beget of his Spirit those who are not in the proper condition. We are satisfied that God has accepted the one class and that in going away from him they are doing violence to the principles of righteousness, and to their covenant and, therefore, are correspondingly going against his will. We may very properly ask guidance for them and wisdom for ourselves that we may speak and act aright. The Divine intention in suggesting that we should pray for one in this attitude, might be that it would aid in developing our sympathy for the various members of the Body and thus help us to scrutinize ourselves that we might be more sympathetic towards one another and have the greater care for one another's interests.
Concerning that portion of the text which says, "He shall give him life for them that sin not unto death," in what sense or to what degree the Lord permits us to be advocates one for another is not clear; but our advocacy of each other would seemingly be offered more particularly to the Head of the Body than to the Father. But even if it be supposed that our advocacy of the case of a brother would be heard by the Father directly, it would still not seem to be due in any sense to worthiness on our part; but because of our standing in the Body of Christ God has arranged a method by which he is pleased to exercise an interest in the various members of the Body in harmony with prayer for such members. We might then ask, what would be the result if there were no members present to pray for a disaffected brother? Would God allow him to go down into the Second Death because [R4625 : page 186] no one living in that neighborhood knew about his case? The answer is that the Lord himself is the Head of the Body and quite probably if there were no other members who would be in the attitude of intercession and sympathy, the great Head of the Body would find some means of advocating the interests of the disaffected member. It could not be that the Lord would allow any member of his Body to perish simply for lack of our attention or prayers.
We might include in this general thought the "Great Company" and the manner in which the Lord deals with them. They are really out of the way so far as the high [R4626 : page 186] calling is concerned, but the great Advocate has endorsed their case, therefore he will not suffer them to be condemned with the world, but instead, will provide chastening experiences which will, if rightly received, be helpful to them and ultimately bring them off conquerors.
The Apostle brings before our attention, in speaking of one who had committed a serious trespass, that the Church should have judged him; that he should have been brought before the Church and been reproved for his course. Since the Church had failed to do its duty, the Apostle, being absent in person, but present in spirit, as one of them, had judged this individual and "delivered him over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." This saving of the spirit in the day of the Lord Jesus, as apparently relating to the Great Company, would seem to correspond with the expression in the text that the Lord would "give him life," would preserve his life. The thought then is that if he were in danger of going down into the Second Death the faithful prayer would lead to such a recovery of the individual as would bring him to the place where he would have the proper view of matters, and in that sense of the word would bring him back to the "life" standing, because life can be lost only by willfully and intentionally disobeying the Divine arrangements. If, therefore, the person has not willingly and deliberately betrayed his trust, and gone back on the blood of the Covenant wherewith he was once sanctified, there is always a possibility of recovering such a one to a proper view. If his heart is right, a proper view of the situation would be sufficient for him. The Lord will always be willing to help all such and we may reasonably suppose that he would render this aid whether we pray for it or not. If we neglect our interest in and care over the fellow-members, it is our loss; the Head would not neglect his interest and care over them; but all such as might be going in the direction of the Second Death would be recoverable only up to the point where their hearts go wrong.
Now we come to the latter part of the verse, "There is a sin unto death; I do not say that he should pray for it." We are to understand that this sin unto death is something that is very specific. It is a matter of willfulness and is a turning again to the beggarly elements of the world from which we were once recovered, from which we once escaped. And what are the beggarly elements of the world? Some might suppose that the beggarly elements of the world are murder, robbery, etc. We answer, Yes. Are we to expect, then, that a Christian would turn to robbery and murder? And would this be a sign of his having lost the Lord's Spirit – not merely that he is losing it, but that he has lost it, that he is dead? We answer, Yes. And how would it manifest itself? We answer, our Lord gives a more refined definition of murder. To be angry with a brother without just cause – to have hatred, envy, malice, strife; these are the works of the flesh and the devil. Whoever has these – that is to say, whoever is actuated by these, not merely in a moment of impulse and through some oversight in the care of his tongue, as mentioned in an illustration recently, but whoever deliberately and repeatedly manifests these as his own spirit and thought, has certainly lost the Spirit of the Lord, if he ever had it, if he had not been merely glossed over with an outward veneer of meekness, gentleness, patience, long suffering, brotherly kindness and love. His loss of these qualities and his taking on of the vicious qualities, backbiting, slander, anger, malice, strife, etc., would indicate that he had lost the Spirit of the Lord. It would signify that he is not dying, but that he is dead. – Jude 12.
Going back to the illustration of the dog, which we used in a previous issue, we see a difference between this condition of willfulness and the one in which the New Creature might be temporarily overtaken in a fault and his "dog," so to speak, break loose and bite some one. The "dog" would get a whipping, and apologies would be made to the person injured and things made good so far as possible. The one who approves of his dog's going out and biting his brethren or neighbors has evidently lost the Spirit of Christ which he once had.
Now, should we pray for such? The Apostle says, "I do not say that you should agonize for these." No; it would evidently be worse than a waste of time for Christians to pray and agonize and labor for such. There are plenty of more hopeful cases. If you had some trees in your yard, and you should see one looking a little withered or sickly, you might dig around it, fertilize it, water it, etc., but if, upon examination, you found it dead down at the roots, you would say, no need to use more fertilizer for it. So with this matter of prayer and laboring with those who have lost the Spirit of Christ and have developed, instead, a vicious spirit of the Adversary; it is worse than a waste of time to have anything more to do with them.
We might ask: What would be the best evidence to one's self that he had not committed the "sin unto death"? We occasionally come across people who believe that they have committed the "sin unto death" and usually they are in a very distressed condition of mind. We cannot say to these positively that the mere fact that they are distressed in mind is a proof that they have not committed "the sin unto death" in view of the typical lesson of Esau, "that profane person who sold his birthright," and of whom we read that he sought it earnestly and with tears, but did not recover it. Similarly, in view of the case of Judas Iscariot: his penitence for having betrayed the Lord, and his return of the money and hanging himself as an evidence of his deep remorse. What, then, shall we say to such?
In our own experience with these it has generally been the case that those who thought they had committed "the sin unto death," had really done nothing of the kind, so far as our judgment goes. Our method, therefore, is to try to show them that what they did was not done willfully or intelligently against God and his will. We ask: "Did you mean to do thus and so?" After catechising them along the course that seemed to them to constitute "the sin unto death" one will usually succeed in showing them that nothing that they have done was willfully, intentionally, knowingly done, and that the fact that they regret it and that the attitude of their heart and their intentions now is still in accord with the Lord, shows that the Adversary is merely endeavoring to [R4626 : page 187] shake their faith and confidence and to turn them aside.
We consider that a good method of dealing further with such persons is to say, "Now, if you have lost the Lord's Spirit, you will be loveless towards those of his people with whom you come in contact, and if you still have his Spirit you will not be harsh and implacable, but desirous of serving them. You will be kind, gentle, long suffering and thus manifest that you still have the Spirit of Christ. If you have the Spirit of Christ, that is a sign that you are his. If you are without this special mark of the Lord's Spirit it is an evidence that you are not one of his."
In some cases that we have known, the conditions seemed to imply that the persons had really lost the Lord's Spirit, for they confessed to special hardness of heart, no love, no sympathy, only bitter feeling. We could say but very little more to such, but merely advise them to try to take a different view of the matter and to progress to a better condition. We have suggested that perhaps they were physically impaired, or in some melancholy condition of mind, of which the Lord would not take note as being their real spirit or intention, and there we were obliged to leave it.
We have been asked if we understand Esau to be a type of the Second Death class or of the Great Company. It is probable that Esau was not a type of those that go into the Second Death. He is spoken of as profane – that is, not spiritual, and the Apostle seems to use him as representing the natural man. In his outward appearance of hairiness, etc., the animal man, apparently, was pictured. The Lord through the Apostle may merely have been designing to show that though the natural Jew was offered these wonderful privileges of the spiritual things he would prefer the natural things. We know that the Apostle likens the whole Jewish nation to Esau "who sold his birthright," and yet the same Apostle proceeds to tell us that this whole Jewish nation will by and by be recovered and come into special blessings under the New Covenant. We may presume that these were not worthy of the spiritual blessings, and that this is the reason they were looked upon as of the Esau class and not of the class who get the spiritual blessings. They preferred the earthly, so we believe there will be earthly blessings for them in due time. If, when the earthly blessings of the Millennium are offered to this Esau class, they will not profit by the lessons and disciplinings and come to a right spirit, they will be destroyed; but if they do respond to the Lord's providences and the chastenings of the Lord in the Millennial Kingdom, they will gradually rise and lose their bestiality; their stony heart will be taken away, and instead they will receive a "heart of flesh."
So in our judgment Esau represented merely the natural man, the natural Jew, and did not represent either the "Great Company" or those who will go unto the "Second Death" during this Gospel Age.
The Canaanitish woman was a heathen woman – one not an Israelite – one with whom the Lord had not entered into covenant relationship – one of those who at that time were without God and without hope, because the Divine provision for the blessing of the Gentiles was not yet opened up to them. When our Lord sent forth his Apostles to preach the Gospel, healing all manner of diseases and casting out devils, he instructed them to pass by all who were not Jews – Gentiles and Samaritans. His words were, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not, for I am not sent save to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." With a few exceptions our Lord's miracles were confined to the Jews. They alone were God's covenanted people. For this reason Jesus ignored the petition of the Canaanitish woman, crying "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is grievously vexed with a devil." And later on he explained, "I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," and "It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs."
The term "dogs" was applied to the Gentiles by the Jews as signifying their inferiority. Our Lord merely made use of an expression common in his day, and still common in Palestine. But note the woman's faith: She replied, "Yea, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the Master's table." What perseverance, what faith, was thus manifested! How evidently she believed the Lord to be the promised Messiah, the Heir of the throne of David! As Jesus intimated, she had more faith than a majority of the Jews. Her request was granted – "O woman, great is thy faith! Be it unto thee even as thou wilt." Her daughter was healed from that hour.
There are several lessons for us in this study. However degraded we may be by nature, by heredity, by environment; however outcast from God's favor, we may still know of the Divine compassion. The message is, "God is Love." If he chose first of all to manifest his favor towards Abraham's children, it did not signify that he had no love or care for the remainder of mankind; merely that the Divine purpose must flow out to mankind through Divinely-appointed channels and in God's due time. We may be sure that when we get to the standpoint of perfect knowledge in the hereafter we shall see wisdom in every feature of the Divine program. For instance, from the human standpoint it seems strange that God has permitted a reign of sin and death in the world for 6000 years, when he has the full power to speak the word and to overthrow the forces of evil and to inaugurate gracious influences of blessing for the deliverance [R4627 : page 188] of mankind from the power of sin and Satan, ignorance and superstition; to give light for darkness; knowledge of God for ignorance and blindness. Studying the Divine Plan of the Ages, we find the lesson to be that God will first select a Church class and subsequently use the elect Church as channels of blessing toward the world of mankind.
A little while, and the permission of sin and the trials and difficulties of the present life shall have served to chisel and polish the "very elect." A little while, and they shall be transformed to the glorious likeness of their Redeemer beyond the veil. And then a little while, and the blessings long-promised to the world in general will be dispensed. The children of God will first be fed from this table, and then not merely crumbs will fall for the remainder of the race, but rich and bountiful provision, exceedingly and abundantly more than we could have asked or thought.
It is a great and important truth that many human beings are more or less completely obsessed by evil spirits – demons – not the spirits of human beings, but the fallen angels, as the Scriptures declare. Many battle for years against these influences of demons and, because not rightly informed of the Bible teaching on the subject, they come more and more under the occult influences with danger of entirely losing their reason. It was probably some such affliction as this which affected the daughter of the Canaanitess. She seemed to realize that there was only the one quarter from which she could get help. Hence her importunity, when she recognized the Lord.
In another sense of the word all sin and sickness may be said to be afflictions of the devil, because all are either directly, or through heredity, Satan's work. Thus our Lord declared that Satan had murdered our race by his falsehood to mother Eve – "He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the Truth." Through his lie our race has gone down into sickness, mental, moral and physical, and is going down rapidly to the tomb. Thank God for the great Deliverer; thank God also, for his great day of deliverance, the Millennial Age, now nigh at hand!
"The earth...and the works therein shall be burned up." – 2 Pet. 3:10.
At the present time the message that the people receive is represented in many creeds, probably hundreds in all; hence the message is a very indistinct one and the Scriptures represent it as "Babel," or confusion. One tongue or voice cries that the message of the Lord is Free Grace; another tongue or voice says it is Election; a third says that only a few will get salvation; while another declares salvation will be universal; a fifth informs us that election is with water, and that without the water no one will be saved. So a variety of voices is heard, and the poor world is not able to determine which is the Truth. As a matter of fact they all have so much error that they condemn themselves in the minds of all reasonable people who have not been born in prejudice and steeped in error. When the Lord will turn this pure message to the people, Babylon will no longer be. She will have come to her end. The voice of the Lord will be known through the glorified Church, "And the Spirit and the Bride shall say, 'Come'! And whosoever will may come and drink of the water of life freely!" (Rev. 22:17.) The Bride class are now on probation that it may be determined which will eventually be of that class. When the marriage of the Lamb shall have taken place, it will be the work of the "Spirit and the Bride to say 'Come'...and whosoever will may take of the water of life freely." This will be after the [R4628 : page 188] "burning" time is over; hence it proves that the fire refers to a time of trouble – a time of destruction against iniquity. The Lord's anger will burn against all kinds of injustice and inequity. Wrong doing, and wrong-doers will then be punished.
The Apostle's statement respecting the Church implies that this judgment, or testing, or fiery trial will begin with the Church and extend to the world. If it "begin first with us" what will the end be to those who make no pretense of following the Gospel message? The Apostle again states that the "fire of that day shall try every man's work of what sort it is." (I Cor. 3:13.) This we understand to refer especially to the Church. Every one in the Church is to be tried; his work is to be tried. However, in great measure it will be a trying time for all the world as well; all inequity and injustice will be exposed, reprobated and destroyed. We see increasing instances of this of late – in the number of fire insurance presidents, for instance, who have been exposed. Fiery trials came upon them as the result of exposures, [R4628 : page 189] etc. Some of these men were undoubtedly hastened to the tomb, "burned" to death, we might say, by fiery trials. And a great deal of burning, heart-burning, and headaches and prostration are caused today by various exposures of one kind or another as the time advances. No doubt that Day will bring forth further developments and trouble until the prophecies respecting it shall have been completely fulfilled – until the picture of utter destruction of everything evil, both root and branch, is carried out. – Mal. 4:1.
"To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." – Rom. 8:6.
When this proposition reaches the individual, our Lord says that he should "sit down and count the cost." He should not rashly say, "Yes, yes"; but he should deliberate as to what this means – the cost in self-denials and the giving up of earthly preferences. After having counted the cost, and after having made the consecration his will or determination should be so set as not to allow it either to favor the flesh or to be guided by the flesh. He should resolve that henceforth whatever is God's will shall be his will, whether he understand all about that will or not. He must, however, see the outlines of the Divine will and something of the advantages accruing, before he can form the decision. This is the class which the Father accepts and begets of his holy Spirit.
The new mind may sometimes be misled by false reasoning of the flesh. Our natural minds have their preferences, ambitions, aims and desires and they sometimes argue about certain things and say, "God never intended that that should be given up; God would not expect you to do anything so unreasonable as that!" And so, perhaps, the New Creature is deceived, and allows the flesh to have its way; but just so surely as it is a New Mind it has not intelligently or willfully assented to a wrong course; but, as the Apostle says, "Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me." (Rom. 7:11.) So there is a continual battle on the part of the new will, the New Creature, after being begotten of the holy Spirit, and he must watch lest the Adversary try to make him think that which is wrong to be right, and that which is right to be wrong. These, then, are snares which the Adversary places for the feet of the New Creature, and he uses the flesh in connection with its ensnarement; but the New Creature in his will, his intention, must remain loyal to the Lord and to righteousness. If he yield his will to unrighteousness or ignore God's will, then he has ceased to be a New Creature; the new things are passed away and all things become old again. This is a condition, we understand, from which he can never be recovered. – Heb. 6:4-6.
In this connection, the Apostle James, in speaking of saving a soul from death, is evidently referring to one who is going into that careless condition where the new mind has become, as it were, stupefied, where the old mind has gotten the ascendency over it. If we see one of the Lord's people getting into such a condition, we should seek to restore him, "considering ourselves, lest we also be tempted" (Gal. 6:1); and those who do recover such an one "save a soul from death." (Jas. 5:20.) Thus brotherly kindness and assistance are specially commended of the Lord. A special blessing comes to all those who have an earnest desire thus to save an erring brother; a great reward is suggested for those who are successful in such an attempt.
It might be asked how one could know when he was traveling toward that point of danger, so that he might arrest his progress. To one not blinded by the Adversary, the point of deflection from harmony with God's will would be as easily detected as would the border line between two States. The only ground upon which we were granted our present standing was our renouncement of sin and our consecration to the Lord – the giving up of our wills, complete surrender to him; and thus we came into the position of having the imputation of Christ's merit. If we should go back again and our will for righteousness become dead, this, of course, would imply that another will is there. We must have a will of some kind. If our will is no longer a righteous will, then it has gone across the border line and, according to the great Apostle, such never retrace their steps. "Christ dieth no more." There can be no more imputation of Christ's merit to such. They have had their blessing and if they, as the Apostle says, "return like a dog to his vomit," the step must prove fatal. – I Pet. 2:21,22.
True, the new mind at first is weak, undeveloped; and so the Scriptures represent the New Creature as being merely "a babe in Christ," a babe in knowledge and a babe in the development of grace. But the Scriptures tell us that just as we care for a babe – specially handle it, specially feed it, specially deal with it, and do not treat it as we would treat an adult – so the Lord proposes that he will deal with all those who are babes in Christ. "He will not suffer them to be tempted above that they are able to bear, but with every temptation will provide a way of escape." (I Cor. 10:13.) The temptations will be permitted only in proportion to their feeble strength. He will supply for them the milk of the Word, that they may grow thereby, and gives them the assurance that all things shall work together for good to them. – Rom. 8:28.
The trials at the beginning, therefore, are commensurate with the weakness of the New Creatures. It is true in some instances, however, that the New Creature seems to have a great deal of courage and strength at the beginning – perhaps more than is ever exhibited afterward. This, of course, is not a satisfactory condition of [R4628 : page 190] things. We ought to go from grace to grace, from knowledge to knowledge; after a time, we ought to be teachers, as the Apostle says, and not need to be taught again the first principles of the doctrines of Christ. God deals with us now as New Creatures under the direction of the Head. He supervises all the interests of each member of the Body. All things, if properly accepted, are overruled of the Lord for good to us individually.
This is one of the great lessons of faith that the Lord's people need to learn, even after they have been in the way a good while. There are some Christian people who seem to have the impression, or at least give it to others, that they did this and that or saw so and so by their own wisdom. True, we all should use all the wisdom and strength we have; but the Christian who is relying upon himself is in a very dangerous position and quite likely the Lord will find it necessary to give him a lesson. For while it is his duty to rule his life so as to walk in the right paths, yet he needs continually to exercise faith in God and in the Lord's oversight and direction of his affairs, for "the steps of a righteous man are ordered of the Lord." If, in the Father's providence, some of the circumstances connected with our earthly affairs turn in this or that direction, our hearts should look to the Lord for the lesson to be drawn therefrom, and thus be able to glorify God thereby. The Christian should never view any experience as being lucky or unlucky, but should remember that all things connected with him, if he be living close to the Lord, are ordered and directed by the Lord. – Psa. 37:23.
"That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us." – Acts 17:27.
Such as do come in this way, we have proven from our own experiences and the experiences of others, as well as from the Word, are met half way by the Lord. "Draw nigh unto me, and I will draw nigh unto you." (Jas. 4:8.) And as they draw nigh and continue to approach closer by God's grace, they are brought by and by to a full realization that God is willing to accept them as sacrificers, as "members of the Body of Christ." If they fall into line with the Divine provision and present their bodies a living sacrifice, they will be looked upon as holy, acceptable to God (Rom. 12:1); they will recognize the "high calling" to "glory and honor and immortality" with Christ. But if they fail to go on, they will thus receive the grace of God in vain. – 2 Cor. 6:1.
The Apostle intimates, not only in the text under consideration, but also in his Epistle to Timothy (I Tim. 2:4), that God wills that all men shall be saved; wills it in the sense that he will awaken them all from Adamic death and "bring them to a knowledge of the Truth"; that they may be recovered entirely from all imperfections that belong to Adam's condemnation, and thus brought fully into harmony with him. Because this is his will, he has made ample provisions – not only in the arrangement by which our Lord died on behalf of all mankind, that he might be the Ransomer of all, but also in the provision that all shall have the opportunity of coming to this knowledge and of benefitting thereby.
In this sermon on Mars Hill, the Apostle Paul pointed out to the men at Athens that this "unknown God," this God who was unknown to them, is the great God who has divided unto men their habitation and determined their bounds; that he is the supervisor of the nations; that he determines how long and under what conditions the nations may prosper and what liberties and opportunities they may have. Then he proceeds to point out that while God has for a long time left men in ignorance and winked at many of their imperfections and flagrant wrong-doings, as though he did not notice them all, nevertheless another step has now been taken in his great Plan: "Now he commands all men everywhere to repent."
The Apostle further declares, I, Paul, have something to tell you about this great God and about his message – that all men everywhere should repent. Do you ask me why they should repent? I answer, for the reason that God is prepared to forgive them their sins, on this condition: He was not prepared to do this a short time ago; he was not prepared to do this until Christ died; but since Christ has died and ascended up on high and "appeared in the presence of God for us" – for believers – God is now willing to accept any who come unto him through Jesus. It is proper, therefore, that I should tell you that there is to be an opportunity of future life through him.
And, furthermore, it is proper that I should tell you also that "God has appointed a Day [the great Millennial period] in which he will judge [try] the world in righteousness." The whole world will then have a trial, a righteous trial, a fair, impartial trial, a full opportunity "to come unto the knowledge of the Truth"; to come to a knowledge of right and wrong, a full opportunity to come to perfection of human life and to attain all that was lost in the fall of man. (Luke 19:10.) This message should, as far as possible, be made known to all men everywhere, because every act of their lives will have a bearing upon the future; it will either uplift them to some extent out of the depths of degradation into which the world has been plunged through ignorance and superstition and bring a development of character, or it will condemn them and bring a measure of retribution, and thus make the conditions of the future more difficult than they would be if righteousness were sought.
This is merely to remind the friends everywhere of the approaching Chief or General Convention of the year. The location is ideal for the large gathering that is hoped for, and the low rates will make it possible for many to attend even from distant points.
As previously stated, the cheapest rate will be for those who will start their journey on July 29. On that date tickets should be bought to Chautauqua for one fare, plus $2, for the round trip, good for return trip any time within thirty days. Those who for any reason will find it necessary to start on some other date, should inquire for lowest special Chautauqua Lake (N.Y.) rate, or summer tourist fare TO CHAUTAUQUA LAKE. Those living in the Eastern and New England States who cannot start July 29 will be able to take advantage of the one-fare and one-half for the round trip, account Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society's Convention at Jamestown, N.Y., tickets on sale August 5 and 6, affording opportunity to attend last days of the Convention. Specially low rates for board for the nine days or less can be secured at cottages and hotels on the lake shore – $1 per day and up. Numerous little steamers plying the lake will afford easy communication with the Auditorium.
(1) What must have been the condition of the earth during the long period in which the rings or water canopies were concentrating towards the poles before breaking in deluges? Was the flood in Noah's day due to the breaking of one of these ring-canopies, and what must have been its effect? And what are the evidences or proofs corroborative? P. 25.
(2) What say Professor Wright and Sir T. W. Dawson on the subject, as reported in the New York Journal. Pp. 26, 27.
(3) Did the flood of Noah's day come at just the right time to fit with Divine Providence respecting humanity, and does this prove to us Divine foreknowledge and arrangement in respect to man's affairs?
(4) What conclusions may we draw from the frozen mammoth of Eastern Siberia? Pp. 28, 29.
(5) From the standpoint we have assumed, how shall we divide the creative week into four distinct parts? Specify these parts. P. 29, par. 3.
(6) What testimony loyal to the Bible does Prof. Silliman offer respecting the structure of our planet? P. 30, par. 1.
(7) Quote Prof. Dana's comment on creation and the wisdom displayed in the order of creation, as outlined in Genesis. P. 30, par. 2,3.
(8) Give a brief synopsis of the events of the first creative epoch-day and show the harmony between this and the Scriptural declaration, "The Spirit of God was brooding over the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light, and there was light." P. 30, par. 4; P. 31, par. 1.
(9) Give a brief synopsis of the events of the second creative epoch-day, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water and let it divide the waters from the waters," etc. P. 31, par. 3; P. 32, par. 1.
(10) Briefly summarize the events of the third creative epoch-day, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together in one place and let dry land appear. And it was so." Pp. 32, 33.
(11) Did the events of these great epoch-days overlap each other, or how can we view this matter, the falling of the rings, etc.? P. 34, par. 1.
(12) Why was not the light of the sun, moon and stars seen until the fourth day, and what were the advantages and disadvantages of the cloudy, steamy conditions prevalent before? P. 34, par. 1.
(13) Explain the lapping of one epoch or day upon another and show how much was accomplished during the first four epoch-days of twenty-eight thousand years. P. 34, par. 2.
(14) In the record of the fifth creative epoch-day God said, Let the waters swarm with living creatures, etc., and created great whales and every living creature with which the waters swarm after their kind, and every winged fowl after its kind. Does not this seem to imply that creation was carried on along Evolutionary lines to an extent – in the development of various kinds or species? P. 35, par. 2.
(15) And is there any evidence that these kinds did not thus reach a fixity or perfection from which they can evolute no further? Explain the entire proposition. P. 35.
(16) To what scientific period does the fifth creative epoch-day correspond? P. 30, par. 1.
(17) In the description of the work of the sixth creative epoch-day does the expression, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind," etc., imply an evolutionary process up to a certain point and the establishment thereby of a fixed species? P. 37, par. 1.
(18) Give a description of the condition of things in the sixth day and demonstrate if by then the earth was more prepared than previously for the different kinds of animals, etc., brought into existence. P. 36, par. 3.
(19) How many kinds or orders of lower animal life do we find, and how may these be described? P. 36, par. 3.
(20) What is the final work of the sixth creative epoch-day accomplished at its close? P. 37, par. 2.
(21) In view of the evidences, should we or should we not presume that a measure of Evolution operated for the creation of man and the bringing of him up to a fixity of species or kind, as it operated with the lower animals? P. 37, par. 4.
(22) Cite evidences showing that in man's creation different expressions entirely are used from those in connection with the development of plant life and the lower animal life. P. 38, par. 1-3.
(23) How shall we explain the two different accounts of creation, the second beginning Genesis 2:4? P. 38, par. 4.
(24) Explain why elohim or gods are mentioned in connection with the first account of man's creation, and Jehovah in connection with the second account. P. 38, par. 5.
(25) Why is it not said of men, as of the beasts of the field, "Let the earth bring forth," nor as of the sea creatures, "Let the sea swarm"? Why is man mentioned as a direct creation and one individual? P. 39, par. 2.
(26) What are we to understand to be signified by the statement that man was created in God's image? Does this image relate to the elohim or to Jehovah? State what difference this would make, and why? P. 39, par. 2, 3.
(27) Is this issue between modern scientific thought along Evolutionary lines and the Bible teaching considerably in harmony, or are they directly opposed to each other? If so, state how and why? P. 39, par. 3.
(28) Does anything, aside from the Genesis records support the theory of man's creation as a perfect being? P. 40, par. 1.
(29) Does the fact that our Lord Jesus is declared to be a corresponding price for man imply that the man to whom he corresponded was perfect, or that he was next to a monkey? P. 40, par. 2.
(30) Does the fact that the Bible teaches that the hope of mankind is restitution or resurrection, raising up, up, up, out of sin and death conditions, seem an evidence or proof that man must have been up before he fell and is now down beneath his original condition in order that restitution might profit him? P. 40, par. 3.
(31) How does the Bible teaching of restitution comport with the Evolution theory, and what conclusion must Bible students reach on the subject from the testimony of Acts 3:19-21? P. 40, par. 4.
page 193
June 1st
| VOL. XXXI | JUNE 15 | No. 12 |
'I will stand upon my watch, and set my foot upon the Tower, and will watch to see what He shall say unto me, and what answer I shall make to them that oppose me.' Hab. 2:1
Upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity: the sea and the waves (the restless, discontented) roaring: men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking forward to the things coming upon the earth (society): for the powers of the heavens (ecclestiasticism) shall be shaken. . . .When ye see these things come to pass, then know that the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Look up, lift up your heads, rejoice, for your redemption draweth nigh. – Luke 21:25-28, 32.
Our "Berean Lessons" are topical rehearsals or reviews of our Society's published "Studies," most entertainingly arranged, and very helpful to all who would merit the only honorary degree which the Society accords, viz., Verbi Dei Minister (V.D.M.), which translated into English is, Minister of the Divine Word. Our treatment of the International S.S. Lessons is specially for the older Bible Students and Teachers. By some this feature is considered indispensable.
This Journal stands firmly for the defence of the only true foundation of the Christian's hope now being so generally repudiated, – Redemption through the precious blood of "the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom [a corresponding price, a substitute] for all." (I Pet. 1:19; I Tim. 2:6.) Building up on this sure foundation the gold, silver and precious stones (I Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Pet. 1:5-11) of the Word of God, its further mission is to – "Make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery which...has been hid in God,...to the intent that now might be made known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God" – "which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed." – Eph. 3:5-9,10.
It stands free from all parties, sects and creeds of men, while it seeks more and more to bring its every utterance into fullest subjection to the will of God in Christ, as expressed in the Holy Scriptures. It is thus free to declare boldly whatsoever the Lord hath spoken; – according to the divine wisdom granted unto us, to understand. Its attitude is not dogmatical, but confident; for we know whereof we affirm, treading with implicit faith upon the sure promises of God. It is held as a trust, to be used only in his service; hence our decisions relative to what may and what may not appear in its columns must be according to our judgment of his good pleasure, the teaching of his Word, for the upbuilding of his people in grace and knowledge. And we not only invite but urge our readers to prove all its utterances by the infallible Word to which reference is constantly made, to facilitate such testing.
Foreign Agencies: – British Branch: 24 Eversholt St., London, N.W. German Branch: Unterdorner Str., 76, Barmen. Australasian Branch: Equitable Building, Collins St., Melbourne.
Terms to the Lord's Poor as Follows: – All Bible Students who, by reason of old age, or other infirmity or adversity, are unable to pay for this Journal, will be supplied Free if they send a Postal Card each May stating their case and requesting its continuance. We are not only willing, but anxious, that all such be on our list continually and in touch with the Studies, etc.
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS
For list of June Conventions see page 172.
Morning Rally for Praise and Testimony at 10:30 o'clock, in the Brooklyn Tabernacle, 13-17 Hicks street. The evening meeting at 7:30 o'clock will also be in the Tabernacle. Discourse for the Public at 3:00 P.M. in the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Lafayette avenue and St. Felix street. Topic: "True Liberty." Visiting friends will be warmly welcomed.
Morning Rally for Praise, Prayer and Testimony at 10:30 o'clock, Zuck's Hall, corner 16th and Peach streets. Service for the public at 2:30 P.M. in the Majestic Theater, Tenth street, near State street. Topic: "Hereafter." Visiting friends will be warmly welcomed.
Brother Russell's home coming has brought to him thousands of congratulations and good wishes from friends far and near. Brother Russell appreciates greatly these evidences of the love of the brethren! He sends, in this item, his acknowledgments and thanks and good wishes. The general interest of the harvest work forbid any attempt to respond personally. Please accept his love and Christian greetings!
SERIES I., The Plan of the Ages, gives an outline of the divine plan revealed in the Bible, relating to man's redemption and restitution: 386 pages, in embossed cloth, 25c. (1s. ½d.) India paper edition, 75c. (3s. 1½d.).
This volume has been published as a special issue of our journal – at the extremely low price of 5c. a copy, in any quantity, postage included. (To foreign countries, 9c.) This enables people of slender purse to herald far and wide the good tidings in a most helpful form.
SERIES II., The Time is at Hand, treats of the manner and time of the Lord's second coming, considering the Bible Testimony on this subject: 370 pages, in embossed cloth, 25c. (1s. ½d.) India paper edition, 75c. (3s. 1½d.)
SERIES III., Thy Kingdom Come, considers prophecies which mark events connected with the "Time of the End," the glorification of the Church and the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom; it also contains a chapter of the Great Pyramid, showing its corroboration of the dates and other teachings of the Bible: 384 pages, in embossed cloth, 25c. (1s. ½d.) India paper edition, 75c. (3s. 1½d.)
SERIES IV., The Day of Vengeance, shows that the dissolution of the present order of things is in progress, and that all the panaceas offered are valueless to avert the predicted end. It marks in these events the fulfilment of prophecy, noting specially our Lord's great prophecy of Matt. 24 and Zech. 14:1-9: 660 pages, in embossed cloth, 30c. (1s. 3d.). India paper edition, 85c (3s. 6½d.)
SERIES V., The At-one-ment Between God and Man, treats an all-important subject – the hub, the center around which all the features of divine grace revolve. Its topic deserves the most careful and prayerful consideration on the part of all true Christians: 507 pages, in embossed cloth, 30c. (1s. 3d.) India paper edition, 85c (3s. 6½d.)
SERIES VI., The New Creation, deals with the Creative Week (Genesis 1 and 2), and with the Church, God's "New Creation." It examines the personnel, organization, rites, ceremonies, obligations and hopes appertaining to those called and accepted as members of the Body under the Head: 740 pages, in embossed cloth, 30c. (1s. 3d.) India paper edition, 85c (3s. 6½d.)
The above prices include postage.
IN FULL LEATHER BINDING, gilt edges, the set (6 vols.) $3.00, (12s. 6d.), plus postage, 60c. (1s.).
Is also published in foreign languages as follows: In German, five vol.; in Swedish Vols. 1, 2, 3, and 5; in Dano-Norwegian, three vols.; in Greek three vols.; in French, two vols.; in Hollandish, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian and Polish, one vol. each; bound in cloth, uniform with English edition, prices the same.
Vol. 6, German and Swedish (WATCH TOWER form), $1.50 each.
[SEC. II. – ROME AND HOMEWARD BOUND.]
SUNDAY, May 1st, was spent in Rome. We had a public service which indicated the deep interest of the comparatively few present. Possibly as many grains of wheat were found as though the meeting had been larger. "The Lord knoweth them that are his." On the whole, however, the meeting was quite a disappointment and came far from fulfilling the prophesy made respecting the large attendance – based upon what were supposed to be very liberal arrangements for a large central auditorium and very liberal advertising. The dear Brother who had the matter in charge no doubt used his best judgment, but his experience in such matters was limited. We spelled our disappointment with an "H," and trusted that the Lord could and would overrule the matter according to his own wisdom. We hope to hear of further interest on the part of some present on that occasion. Our text was from Romans 1:16.
We had no appointment at Venice or Vienna, and went on to Warsaw, Russia. There we had a very enjoyable time with the class of about twenty. Brothers Rutherford and Koetitz accompanied us, and the latter served as interpreter. The very closest attention was given while we endeavored to show forth various features of Present Truth – especially did we emphasize the doctrine of the Ransom. We especially endeavored to make clear how that Jesus gave himself sacrificially to the Father and what he laid down of earthly right was the Ransom Price, which, in due time, at the end of this age he will make over to justice on behalf of "the sins of all the people." We showed that this has not yet been done, that the world still "lieth in the Wicked One," and are children of wrath, and that only the Church has escaped.
We pointed out that the restitution blessings which are to go to the world very shortly, are not the blessings which we seek who hope to be of the Bride-class, and to attain the spirit nature, and joint-heirship with our Lord. We pointed out that the ransom-price, not yet paid over, is in the hands of Justice, to our Redeemer's credit, and that during this Gospel Age he imputes the merit of his sacrifice to all who become his footstep followers. To these he imputes a sufficiency of merit to cover their blemishes that thus their sacrifices may be acceptable. On the basis of this imputation the sacrifices are acceptable with the Father, as saith the Apostle (Romans 12:1), "We beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." We spoke to the dear friends for about four hours, had luncheon with them, and took the night train for Berlin.
At Berlin we had a similarly interesting season of fellowship with the friends of the Truth. We had a social dinner together – about two hundred. Subsequently we addressed them for nearly two hours, the topic being the same as at Warsaw. Then came a Social Tea generally participated in, and later our evening meeting, which was well attended. Many of the friends accompanied us to the railway station, bidding us good bye as we departed for the German Branch Office at Barmen.
We had an enjoyable season at Barmen for nearly two days, speaking to the dear friends for nearly seven hours in all. One service was for the public and was attended by nearly 800, many of whom manifested deep interest. The meetings of the Church varied in number, as not all were able to attend all the meetings, on account of business and other obligations. Here again we emphasized the Atonement for sin, and showed the work of the Mediator between God and men during the Millennial Age to be wholly based upon the meritorious sacrifice of our Redeemer, begun at Jordan and finished at Calvary. We pointed out the gracious arrangement whereby the merit of that sacrifice is imputed to us who accept the Divine invitation to become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ to the heavenly inheritance, and in the work of blessing all the families of the earth, as the Seed of Abraham.
We endeavored to make very plain that the merit of the [R4630 : page 195] atonement lay in the Redeemer's sacrifice, and that the Church is honored in that she is permitted to suffer with her Lord, and that this is a condition without which she may not hope to reign with him. After a delightful season of fellowship and study together of the Word of God we parted from the dear friends, many of whom accompanied us to the station, singing us good bye from the platform.
We reached Harwich the next morning, Sunday, May 8th. To our pleasant surprise a committee of the London Church met us here and journeyed with us to the Metropolis, entertaining us at breakfast on the dining car, and on the journey pointed out items of interest. One of these was a place where about three centuries ago a lad of 19 years was burned to death as a heretic because of his belief in the Bible and the ministry of its teaching, as opposed to the supposed orthodoxy of his time. At another [R4630 : page 196] point on the same road we passed the monument erected to the memory of seventeen martyrs to their loyalty to God's Word. And in London we noted the Memorial Church at Smithfield Corners which commemorates many martyrdoms for the Truth's sake.
Our mental comment was that the land which had witnessed such loyalty to God's Word centuries ago must still have many inhabitants loyal to the Scriptures and quite unwilling to be satisfied with the "new theology" of our day, marked by Evolution doctrines and denial of the inspiration of the Scriptures by the "higher critics."
Although we arrived at the London Station at quite an early hour for Sunday (eight o'clock) we found nearly a hundred of the dear friends of the Truth from the city and suburbs, awaiting with beaming eyes and cheering words. Amongst these was Brother Hemery, the Society's London representative; a number of London Elders, and Brothers Driscoll and Jones from America. According to a preconcerted arrangement the dear friends refrained from shaking hands at this time, lest we should be wearied, but when later we ascertained how eager they had all been, and how some of them had cycled almost thirty miles in order to be there to greet us, we felt sorry that we had not broken over the restrictions made in our defense – sorry that we had not shaken hands with each one of them individually as a token of our love and our great pleasure in meeting them.
We purpose not to withhold ourselves on any future occasion of the kind, but to rely upon the grace and strength of the Lord for the occasion, and to give ourselves and the greeting friends the pleasure of such an occasion. However, we will take this opportunity to suggest to some of the friends that they must not attempt to demonstrate all their love by a handshake – that they must not squeeze too hard. The spirit is willing and the flesh is strong in many instances. The large gathering at the station to meet us seemed the more remarkable when we learned that the dear friends in the ten days previous had been most energetically engaged in advertising our meeting, which was held the night of our arrival. When we advise you that 750,000 copies of the PEOPLES PULPIT had been circulated in London by the friends in the Truth, it will be realized that some of them must of necessity have been wearied with their exertions. Hence the number at the station at that hour and the zeal manifested by their presence was the more remarkable. We may be sure that such love and loyalty to the Lord and to the Truth and to us as their servant, prepared these dear active friends for more of the Lord's blessings in connection with the meeting held.
Three public services were held in this, the greatest Auditorium in the world, on the three Sunday evenings of our stay in Great Britain. The first one was on the evening of our arrival, May 8th. It was a grand assemblage of very intelligent people, of whom the majority apparently were men. Brother Col. Sawyer served as Chairman. Our topic was "Hereafter." As the King had died the day previous, the subject seemed remarkably appropriate. We introduced our discourse with a few words referring to the King, as follows:
"In Germany I learned of the death of your esteemed monarch, Edward VII. I realized that not only your nation, but all Christendom, had lost an unobtrusive but wise Counsellor, a power for peace and good-will amongst men. I take this opportunity to express to this great audience my sympathy, which, I assure you, is shared by the vast majority of my American countrymen. My first thought was, that out of respect for the illustrious dead, his family, and the nation this service should be postponed. But my second thought was to the contrary. Surely at no more fitting hour could we consider 'The Great Hereafter.' There is, thank God, a 'hereafter' for kings as well as for peasants – and Royal mourners and a mourning nation need the message from God's Word particularly now. And, since no more representative audience will probably assemble in this capital of the Empire, I have a suggestion to offer which I trust will meet with your approval. It is, that before offering prayer we show our sympathy for the Royal Family, in their bereavement, by standing. After a brief prayer, in which the Royal Family were remembered, the congregation joined in singing the hymn reputed to be the deceased King's favorite, 'Nearer, My God, to Thee.'" For a few moments before we led in prayer, the congregation, with bowed heads, prayed silently. The occasion was a very impressive one.
In discussing the "Hereafter," we showed the generally accepted views of Catholics and Protestants, and then, in contrast with these, the Bible presentation, which we affirmed to be not only the true one, but the only logical one. We pointed out the hereafter of the Church in glory and the steps of patient perseverance leading thereto. We pointed out that while the Bible shows, and the creeds confess, that only a little flock will be joint-heirs in the Kingdom with Christ, nevertheless there is another salvation which is for the world. The world's earthly salvation we contrasted with the Church's heavenly one. We showed that it will be a restitution to mental, moral and physical perfection, to be attained during the thousand years of Messiah's reign in glory, for which we pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We showed the Divine provision for an earthly Paradise for such restored sons of Adam as will accept the Divine arrangement on their behalf, and that all others will be destroyed in the Second Death.
We pointed out that this was a very different outlook from the one ordinarily presented in the creeds of Christendom. While taking no more to heaven than the saintly and elect, as the Bible indicates, all the creeds consign the remainder of mankind either to centuries of torture in Purgatory, or to an eternity of torture in hell. We pointed out the unscripturalness and unreasonableness of this proposition, and showed in scriptural language that God's provision is a resurrection of the dead as the hope of both the Church and the world – the Church in the First Resurrection to glory, honor and immortality.
We pointed out that the glorification of the elect on the spirit plane, as the spiritual "Seed of Abraham," is scripturally declared for the very purpose of blessing all the families of earth – the non-elect – giving them fullest opportunity to come to the knowledge of the Lord, and of righteousness, and to avail themselves of a share of God's mercy and forgiveness for all the willing and obedient to life everlasting. We had a good hearing for nearly two hours. Custodians of the hall remarked that for an audience to sit for so long was practically unprecedented in their experience. We trust that some good was accomplished, that some were brought nearer to the Lord, some made to appreciate more fully God's love, justice, wisdom and power. The newspapers were so full of news pertaining to the deceased King, Edward VII, and the arrangements for his funeral, and to the royalty expected to attend it, that very meager remarks on the sermon appeared.
We spent Monday looking about London for the Lord's answer to our prayer that we might be directed to more [R4630 : page 197] suitable quarters for the London Office, and to some suitable place centrally located for the regular church services. We learned much, but accomplished nothing. Places suitable seem difficult to find.
Tuesday brought us to Bristol, where there is a very interesting class of Bible Students in fellowship with us. A goodly delegation met us at the railway station, attended to our refreshment, and took us to the meeting place. The afternoon session was for the interested and we were pleasantly surprised to note how many were so deeply interested as to make arrangements to be at liberty from their business and household cares to attend the meetings. Not all, of course, were their own masters and able to control their own time, yet the will of many to be present evidently guided to the way which the Lord opened up for them. About 135 were present at the afternoon service, and 650 at the evening service, which was for the public.
At the afternoon service we endeavored to point out the importance of standing – not falling away from the Lord and the Truth. We showed what were the conditions upon which the Lord accepted us as his children, inducted us into his family and to a knowledge of the Truth. We showed the necessity for the spirit of love and loyalty to continue with us, in order that we might continue to have Divine guidance and blessing, and that love is the principal thing. Incidentally we pointed out the relationship of the ransom-price to the world's deliverance. We showed that it was necessary for Jesus to die, "The [R4631 : page 197] just for the unjust," in order that he might have the ransom-price with which to redeem the Church and the world later on. God raised him from the dead a spirit being, so he might have his earthly rights to give to mankind.
We also called attention to the fact that our Lord's obtaining the ransom-price, by the sacrifice of himself, is a different matter entirely from his paying that ransom-price over to Divine Justice on behalf of sinners. He gave himself to be the ransom-price for the sins of the world nearly nineteen centuries ago. His giving of himself was acceptable to the Father, and what he sacrificed became the ransom-price for the whole world – quite sufficient for Adam and all his race whenever applied. We showed that he had not yet applied it for the world, and that hence the world is still "lying in the wicked one," still under Divine condemnation, still unreconciled – waiting for God's "due time," when the ransom and its privileges will be testified to all.
We showed that the testimony respecting the value of our Lord's death as the ransom-price had already been given to us – believers, the household of faith, the Church. We have received the testimony, and with the testimony God sent us an invitation to become associates with his Son, our Lord and Redeemer, in all of his great work of blessing all the families of the earth in the coming age, when in his Millennial Kingdom glory he shall serve the world as its Mediator, standing between men and God. He will then satisfy Divine Justice by making application of his merit for the sins of all the people. In consequence of that satisfaction, they will all be turned over to him, and his Millennial Kingdom will begin. The Father will put all things under him, accepting the ransom-price as full satisfaction for the sins of all. During that thousand years the Mediator, Christ the Head and the Church his Body, Christ the Bridegroom and the Church the Bride, his joint-heir, will reign for the uplifting of mankind out of sin, degradation, death – up to perfection of mind, body and morals.
During all the time of the Mediatorial Kingdom the world of mankind will not be subjected to the Father, but to the go-between, the Mediator, the great Prophet, Priest, King, Judge, of many members. At the conclusion of the Mediatorial reign, when all unwilling to make progress shall be destroyed in the Second Death, and all willing and obedient shall have been brought up out of sin and death conditions to perfection – then The Christ, Head and Body, will deliver up the Kingdom to the Father. Thenceforth there will be no more mediation, no further mediatorial work or Kingdom, because the necessity will be gone. Every man will be perfect and able to stand the test of Justice, and will be required to do so from the moment the Mediator steps aside and turns over the Kingdom to God, even the Father. – I Cor. 15:24.
We exhorted the friends to faithfulness, to loving zeal, to patient endurance, to the development of the fruits and graces of the Spirit, that they might be accounted worthy of association with the Redeemer, in his Kingdom work as antitypical priests and kings unto God, as members of the antitypical Mediator between God and men. The service for the public attendance in the evening (about 600) was excellent indeed, when the general commotion incidental to the King's death and funeral is remembered; also remembering the fact that the meeting was on a weeknight. Our subject was "Man's Past, Present and Future," and was dealt with after our usual manner. We remained over night, and when we took the train Wednesday morning a goodly company of the friends were on the platform. Some of them accompanied us to our next appointment. Those remaining on the platform waved their good bye, and we bade them adieu, expressing our appreciation of their loving zeal manifested in so many ways and our hopes that they might prove faithful to the end, and receive the crown of life.
At Manchester we were met at the station by a considerable delegation of the Church and taken to dinner. Subsequently we addressed a gathered company of about 300 in their usual hall. Profound attention was given, and subsequently we were warmly greeted. We spoke from the text, "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear (reverence) him, and he will show them his Covenant." (Psa. 25:14). We considered how carefully the Lord has guarded the secrets of his plan, so that at no time have they been known except to the saints, the reverential. We considered the matter of his Covenant and that it must be shown or revealed even to his saints, otherwise it could not be understood. We noted Israel's covenant made at Sinai and the fact that it is still in force; that it did not cease at the cross, except as St. Paul declares – it ceased so far as those Jews were concerned who became dead to the Law and married to Christ. "Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to every one that believeth," but he is not the end of the Law to others.
The Law Covenant has dominated the Jews and will continue to do so until the great antitypical Mediator shall step forth and inaugurate for Israel the better arrangement, styled the New [Law] Covenant. It will not have a new Law, because the Law given to Israel was just, and holy, and perfect, but it will have a new Mediator more capable than Moses, and he will be able to show mercy to the people more effectively because his standing and authority as Mediator will be based upon "better sacrifices" than those which the typical Moses typically offered. But this great antitypical Mediator cannot undertake his great work until his own completion by the association of the Church with himself as his "members," and this will not be completed until the "better sacrifices" are completed. [R4631 : page 198] We saw that this work of offering the "better sacrifices" is still in progress and that the Gospel Age has been the antitypical "Day of Atonement." At its close the Mediator, Head and Body, will be completed and glorified, and will inaugurate the New Covenant with Israel in harmony with the promises. The New Covenant will take over the Old Covenant and all the people that were under it, and thus alone can the Law Covenant, instituted by Moses, find fulfillment in its antitype.
Thus St. Peter declared, "For Moses verily said unto the fathers, a Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you from amongst your brethren like unto me (I am his likeness or type, foreshadowing that great prophet in the small way), him shall ye hear in all things; and it shall come to pass that the soul that will not obey that Prophet shall be destroyed from amongst the people." (Acts 3:22,23.) All who will not come into line then with the great antitypical Mediator will perish in the Second Death, but first they must come to a knowledge of him. All the blind eyes must be opened, and all the deaf ears unstopped. The entire Gospel Age has been set apart in the Divine order for the raising up of this great Prophet like unto Moses – the great Mediator of the New Covenant. Jesus was raised up first, "Head over all things to the Church which is his Body." Subsequently the Apostles were raised up as members of his Body and since then selections have been made from people from every nation and clime. The great antitypical Mediator will soon be complete.
In proportion as the antitype came in the type ended, but only that proportion and no more. Thus the typical bullock of the atonement found its antitype in the "Man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all," and the typical high-priest found an antitype in Jesus Christ, "The high-priest of our profession" or order, and the sacrifice of the bullock found its antitype in the consecration and death of Jesus. Thus also the under-priesthood finds its antitype in the consecrated Church, as St. Peter declares. Thus also the Lord's goat on the day of atonement finds its antitype in the flesh of those who are now consecrated to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. As that goat went to the bullock outside the camp to be burned, so the Apostle exhorts us, "Let us go to him outside the camp bearing his reproach" – outside of human favor and esteem and fellowship, for "If we suffer with him we shall also reign with him." This last mentioned feature of the type has not yet been fully completed, hence the other features of the type incidental to the Law Covenant and its day of atonement have not yet found a fulfillment, but "not one jot or tittle shall fail." All shall be fulfilled in due time. The great Prophet, the antitype of Moses, will shortly be completed and be raised up from amongst his brethren, and then the second application of his blood will be made, "On behalf of all the people." Then, in view of that redemptive work – that payment of the ransom-price for all – the whole world will be turned over to the great Mediator, Priest and King. He will take unto himself his great mediatorial power and begin his reign for the overthrow of Sin and Death and for the uplifting of the willing and obedient of Adam's race.
The dear friends at Manchester had made a great distribution of Volunteer matter – about a hundred thousand copies of the PEOPLES PULPIT, besides other methods of advertising through the newspapers, etc., etc. A fine audience of very intelligent people listened with rapt attention to our presentation of the subject of "The Great Hereafter." The next day, Thursday the 12th, we bade adieu once more and went to Otley.
Otley is a smaller place than we usually visit on such occasions, but the work there had a very interesting beginning. Some time ago a young man, a local Elder in the Primitive Methodist Church, purchased a copy of the Plan of the Ages at a second-hand book-stall. It deeply impressed him and he loaned it to five of his fellow-co-laborers, local preachers in the same Church. All six received the Truth with zeal. Violent opposition and misrepresentation came upon them in connection with their public avowal of the love of God and his Divine Plan of the [R4632 : page 198] Ages. Under the influence of that persecution one-half of them repudiated the Truth much after the manner described by our Lord in the parable, Because they had not much root in themselves; when the sun of persecution arose they withered away. We were glad to meet the three who remained staunch and were glad under their arrangements to address the public, taking for our text "The Thief in Paradise, The Rich Man in Hell, and Lazarus in Abraham's Bosom." We had the close attention of a very intelligent audience. In the afternoon preceding we addressed the interested ones to the number of about sixty, some of whom came from the regions near. We discussed with them the glorious invitation granted to "the Church of the Living God" and the call which has come to her – to be the Bride of his Son, and joint-heir in his Kingdom, setting before the minds of the class the glorious privilege thus afforded and the riches of grace providing the blessing. We exhorted all to faithfulness even unto death, to follow in the footsteps of Jesus; and we assured all such, in the Master's name, of the "crown of glory that fadeth not away."
Our next stop was at Nottingham. Here again we had a pleasant and profitable time of fellowship with the household of faith to the number of about ninety. Again we concluded that the uppermost thought of interest to the friends must be along the lines of our recent studies respecting the Covenants and their Mediators. Following the matter much as we did at the other places we endeavored to make especially clear the proper distinction between the meaning of an "Advocate" and a "Mediator." A Mediator stands between two persons with a view of reconciling them and bringing them together. Thus the glorified Christ during his Millennial Kingdom will stand between God and men. After satisfying Justice by the application of the merit of his sacrifice finished at Calvary, the great Mediator will undertake to open the eyes of the blind world, to unstop the deaf ears, and to discipline and correct them so that they will appreciate God and his gracious arrangement on their behalf, and so come into harmony with his Millennial Kingdom. It, by chastisement and rewards, will lift men up, up, up out of sin and death conditions to absolute human perfection. Then the obedient, being perfect, will be able to stand before God, and the Mediator will turn over to the Father all those who have turned from sin and through the merit of his sacrifice have been brought back to human perfection. Then he will abdicate his office as Mediator between God and men, for there will be none who will longer need such a Mediator.
But before beginning his work of Mediator between God and men, our great Redeemer does a work for the Church in accordance with the Father's arrangement. During this Gospel Age he proffers himself as Advocate to all who may have the hearing ears and appreciative hearts and who may turn from sin to serve the living God to the best of their ability, and who may exercise faith in the Redeemer, and approach the Father through him. Such as thus approach God are approaching [R4632 : page 199] justification by their faith and by their obedience. To such God declares, "Draw nigh to me and I will draw nigh to you." (Jas. 4:8.) Every step that these advance from sin toward righteousness is a step toward God, toward justification, based upon their faith in God; toward Covenant relationship. To such God draws nigh in the same proportion. At first they are justified to fellowship with God, as Abraham was justified by his faith and obedience. But the call of this present time is to sonship and joint-heirship with Christ in his Kingdom.
Hence the Father points these who draw nigh to him to Jesus as "The way, the truth and the life," and his message is, "No man cometh unto the Father but by me." Those desiring fellowship with God to the full, to have his blessing of eternal life, may hope to attain it only through accepting the merit of Christ's sacrifice by faith and by making a consecration of themselves to be his disciples, and to walk in his steps. Faith such as Abraham had and exercised so beautifully could not bring him nearer to God than justification to fellowship and to receive a certain blessing promised, a "better resurrection." But those who come now to God, in view of the sacrifice of Christ, may accept him as their Advocate, and through him have full presentation to the Father, and may enter fully into covenant relationship with him as sons. There is no other invitation at the present time than that of the spirit of full devotion to the Father's will; these alone are now sought.
To these the appointed Advocate declares his willingness to be their Advocate – to undertake to be their spokesman with the Father, and to make good in the Father's sight for all their blemishes of the flesh, so as to enable them to offer (Mal. 3:3) a righteous sacrifice which God could accept. We pointed out that all these called to be the followers of Jesus, had, unlike their Leader, weak, imperfect and blemished bodies. They "were children of wrath even as others," but they got out of that condition by turning their hearts to God and away from sin; and by accepting his appointed way in Christ. But although there are many steps by which God may be approached quickly or slowly, nevertheless there is the one standard which must be attained before any can be accepted of the Father as members of the Body of Christ. That step is full consecration even unto death. Then the Redeemer imputes such a portion of his merit to such as will make good the sinner's deficiency, and thus enable the Father to accept him as a sacrifice. This is in accord with the Apostle's words in Romans 12:1. Our sacrifices themselves are not holy and acceptable to God, but only because of our relationship to the great Advocate. Our Advocate imputes sufficient of his merit to make good our deficiency. If one is deficient 50 per cent., the Lord imputes to him that 50 per cent. If another is deficient 25 per cent., that amount is imputed to him. If another be deficient 75 per cent., that amount is imputed to him – to each according to his needs from the abundant sufficiency of him who loved us and bought us with his own blood.
Just as soon as our Redeemer makes this imputation of his merit on our behalf we are in the Father's sight justified fully and completely from all things – as much so as though we had never committed sin. It is in view of this justification that the Father accepts our sacrifice as holy and acceptable, and begets us of his holy Spirit. We exhorted the friends to remember that thus it was that they entered into covenant relationship with God, and that they could maintain that relationship only by continuing their sacrifice on the altar – laying down their lives for the brethren, and in the service of God generally, "doing good unto all men as they have opportunity, especially the household of faith." We reminded them that this covenant relationship into which the Church has come is not by the Covenant of the Law of Moses, nor by the New [Law] Covenant, which will take the place of the old Law Covenant with Israel, under the better Mediator, and which will operate during the Millennial Age, and bring them into harmony with God, and into full covenant relationship only at the close of the Millennium.
Our covenant relationship, which we enter into at once through the assistance of our great Advocate, brings us immediately into fellowship, into sonship; and immediately makes us joint-heirs with Jesus Christ our Lord to the heavenly inheritance. Wherefore we are no longer aliens but sons. Not only does no Mediator stand between us and God, but no Mediator brought us to God. The Father himself called us and drew us, as the Scriptures declare, and himself pointed us to Jesus our Advocate. We called attention to the fact that an Advocate stands alongside of as a spokesman, and does not come between, as does the Mediator. We also drew attention to the fact that Jesus was not spoken of as our Mediator, but we are told that he is our "Advocate with the Father."
The evening session for the public was in Mechanics Hall, and was well attended; our topic was, "The Thief in Paradise, The Rich Man in Hell, and Lazarus in Abraham's Bosom." Bidding the Nottingham friends good-bye, with best wishes for their eternal welfare, and accepting their good wishes on our behalf, we went to London on Saturday, there to look further respecting the Lord's Providence for the future housing of his work.
As far as the contract was concerned, our Lord Jesus entered into it with the Father; and in view of his having given to the Father the ransom-price – "Even as the Son of Man came to give his life a ransom for many" – he already has a claim to being Lord of all, in a prospective sense, not in the actual sense, as there are millions of people on earth today of whom he is not Lord; their knees have not bowed; their tongues have not confessed. So he is not their Lord in the absolute sense, but his work is progressing, and, in view of the authority which will yet be exercised by him and of the work which he will yet do, the Father speaks of him prophetically as "Lord of all." [R4633 : page 200]
We will here consider certain Scriptures as having a bearing upon the matter. We mention first the Scripture which says that the world "sleep in Jesus." (I Thess. 4:14.) How can they sleep in Jesus, unless Jesus owns the world, may be asked? We answer that they sleep in Jesus in exactly the same way that Abraham and all Israel sleep and all the kings and prophets are said to be asleep. Not that Jesus at the time of their death had paid a ransom-price for mankind, nor had come into the world to do so, but because, in the Divine Plan, God had made arrangements for the entire transaction and had guaranteed that a Redeemer would be found, that a ransom-price would be given, and that all mankind would be recovered from the tomb. Further, God himself spoke from that standpoint when he said that he was the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, speaking as though they were really not dead at all, but merely asleep, waiting for him.
Similarly, all who believed God could speak of and think of all who were dead as merely asleep for the time and awaiting the resurrection, even though Jesus had not yet come. The same is true since Jesus came and died. It is now still more reasonable and proper for us to say that all "sleep in Jesus," because now he is identified as the one who has given himself a ransom-price for all. It is not that the price has been applied for all, but merely that he has placed in the Father's hands his sacrificed life, which is his to appropriate and which is sufficient "for the sins of the whole world." (John 3:16.) It has not as yet been appropriated for the world, but merely for the Church, for the price is first a satisfaction for our sins, the Church's sins, and afterwards for the sins of the whole world. – I John 2:2.
We will next consider the text, Ye were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. (I Pet. 1:18,19.) The reference here is to us, the Church, and does not extend beyond the Church to the world. It does not imply that the world is redeemed as yet. Jesus' merit, of course, is all-sufficient for the whole world, but he has not yet appropriated it for all men.
We will consider another text, "Ye are bought with a price." (I Cor. 6:20.) This text, similarly, speaks not of the world, but of the Church. It is the "Ye" class that were bought, and even they were not bought when Jesus died at Calvary. There, indeed, he committed to the Father's hands a price (Luke 23:46) sufficient for all; but it was not then appropriated for anybody – not even for us, not until his resurrection and ascension, when "he appeared in the presence of God for us." (Heb. 9:24.) Then we were bought. "Ye were bought with the precious blood of Christ." His blood was made the offset so far as believers are concerned.
Another text: "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (I John 2:2.) We answer that he was a propitiation, satisfaction, for our sins, in one sense of the word, when he died, but the satisfaction had not then been applied for our sins. When he died the merit of his death was a satisfaction-price for the sins of the whole world, also, but it was not applied for the sins of the whole world. When he ascended up on high he appeared for us, the Church class, and made satisfaction for our sins. Therefore, as we believe and make consecration, our sins are remitted. His merit is additionally the satisfaction for the sins of the whole world; but he has not yet applied it for the world, hence the world is not free from the penalty of sin; it is still under condemnation. Concerning us, however, the Apostle says, "We have escaped the condemnation that is on the world." And again he says, "We were children of wrath even as others." The others, we see, are still children of wrath. Why? Because the satisfaction for their sins has not yet been made. The great Redeemer has the satisfaction price; it merely awaits the due time for application.
Notice another passage, "Christ died and rose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living." (Rom. 14:9.) This text very appropriately states the valuable transaction accomplished by our Lord. His death was a necessary feature of the redemptive work. His raising and revival were also necessary features. And further, he could not have been Lord in any other way than by the Father's proclaiming him "Lord of all," and "Let all the angels of God worship him." But while he is proclaimed to be Lord of all, it will take time to bring about the recognition of it. In harmony with this, the Apostle says, "In the fullness of time God will gather together under him (Jesus) all things in heaven and earth." But it will take the fullness of time, the fullness of the Millennial Age, to accomplish this gathering together under him and making him Lord of all. So we see that prophetically and by Divine appointment he already has that office, but now he waits until his enemies shall be brought under him or made his foot-stool, and all things shall be subjected to him.
We next consider the text, "He gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." (I Tim. 2:6.) The giving of himself as the man Christ Jesus was when he presented himself at Jordan and surrendered all to the Father's will. This work of surrendering his earthly life and all his earthly rights was fully accomplished at Calvary when he cried, "It is finished." He had finished the work the Father had given him to do. He had given himself to be "a ransom for all," and his death-merit is sufficient to constitute a ransom for all, as soon as it shall be so appropriated. Thus far, we see, it has been applied only for us who believe, and the time for its application for the remainder of the world will be at the beginning of the Millennial Age; but it will not reach all of the human family at the beginning.
While our Lord's merit is fully appropriated during the Gospel Age for all who come unto him, it will be fully set free when the last of the consecrated ones shall have passed beyond the vail. His merit has been imputed to them for the very purpose of enabling them to be sacrificers and when it shall have been released by the death of the last of the consecrated, it will be again at his disposal for appropriation. Then the great High Priest will make the second sprinkling of the blood – not on our behalf, because we shall have no further need of it, having by that time become perfect as New Creatures beyond the vail, members of his Body. The second sprinkling will be on behalf of "all the people" – all who will come under the New Covenant arrangement – "to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile"; all who will desire, when they come to sufficient knowledge, under that New Covenant, to come under the merit of our Lord's ransom-price; and those who will fail to thus come, will reject the ransom-price and hence the blessings of restitution.
All these blessings will come gradually, not instantaneously, not by faith, but actually, by restitution processes. All through the Millennial Age The Christ will [R4633 : page 201] be giving men the benefit of our Lord's ransom or "corresponding price," and the full benefit of this price will not have been given until the work of the Millennial Age shall have been finished and shall have brought to perfection all who desire to be God's people, upon God's terms, as God never intended to give his blessings to any but those who desire to be in harmony with him on his terms. God never intended to do anything for those who are willingly and intentionally contrary, such as Satan.
It may be asked how the foregoing will conform with the text, "That he [Jesus], by the grace of God, should taste death for every man." (Heb. 2:9.) We answer that this is God's great work which he purposed in himself before the foundation of the world – that the ransoming of Adam and all his race should be accomplished through the death of Christ. Thus he tasted death for every man, whether the benefit of it was received on the Day of Pentecost, or later, during the Age, or whether they will get it at the beginning of the Millennial Age. It is for every man that he "tasted death," that he might give them the blessings that will come to the world of mankind down to the completion of the Millennial Age, and, if obedient, to all eternity.
"He ascended up on high and led captivity captive" – or, as another translation gives it, and we think more correctly, "He ascended up on high leading forth a multitude of captives." This passage shows that he was the leader of all the captive race. We, the Church, follow first; the "Great Company" follow next; the Ancient Worthies will follow soon afterward, and at the end of the Millennial Age he will bring in the remainder of the race. They will all be led forth, all delivered from the power of sin and death.
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." This passage does not state that Christ made an application of his merit for the ungodly; it merely states that God arranged his plan so that it was necessary for Christ to die for the ungodly. Why did God so arrange it? He arranged it on behalf of, or in the interest of, the ungodly – not merely the Jews and those who were, as some of us may have been, desirous of harmony with God, but for all the ungodly. The merit of his death was intended by the Father to be applicable to every member of the race, the ungodly race of Adam, all of them sinners and more or less depraved and degraded and out of the way.
Now, then, the object for which the price was given is one thing and the application of it is another. The purpose of Christ's death was to redeem the world, to be the world's ransom-price, that he might be the restorer of all. But in this Plan there are time and order; the work progresses step by step. The first [R4634 : page 201] step was for Christ himself to secure eternal glory by his own obedience to death and to have as an asset something that he could give away – his earthly life, which he had not forfeited.
The next step was that he should ascend up on high and apply this price. He appeared as advocate for a special class of humanity. What special class? We answer, he appeared for all those from among men who should desire to come into harmony with God, who should desire to accept God's favor and to become members of the Body of Christ under an invitation or programme that God had arranged. When he appeared for these he imputed the merit of his sacrifice on their behalf, and thus all this merit is absorbed, so to speak, in this one work first undertaken, this work of justifying and assisting this special class who desire to walk in Jesus' steps, desire to suffer with him that they may also share with him the heavenly glory. He does this, not by first giving them earthly restitution, but by simply imputing his merit to them.
This imputation of his merit, coming to those who have turned from sin, who are believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, and have consecrated themselves to God, covers their Adamic sin and makes up for all deficiencies of their flesh, so that they can "present their bodies living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, their reasonable service." (Rom. 12:1.) In other words, he becomes endorser for these. They are not sufficient of themselves, but he guarantees for them that if they will faithfully perform this laying down of their lives, his merit will continue to be applied for all their imperfections. These are the Royal Priests, whom he in one picture represents as his Bride, and in another as members of his Body. These are "more than conquerors."
Then comes the secondary class, not up to this standard – a class that does not voluntarily, heartily and cheerfully lay down their lives in the desire to please the Father and do his will. These, nevertheless, are loyal at heart and are restrained from full sacrifice only through "fear of death," through fear of what it will cost them. They will be tested to the point that they will be obliged ultimately to lay down their lives, and to do so with a willing mind. They fail of coming off more than conquerors because of permitting experiences designed to test them to retard their progress in the matter of gaining the high position offered them, thus they become the Second Company. There is, also, a third class, those who die the "Second Death," who "draw back unto perdition."
By the time that these three classes shall have finished their course, all the merit that Christ imputed will be available again as at first; all will be at his disposal afresh. Then it will be applied in the sealing of the New Covenant which will be made with Israel, but which will be broad enough to include every individual of all the nations of the earth who will be willing to come under the same terms and to become the children of Abraham through faith and obedience.
In this connection let us consider the text, "In whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed ye were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession." – Eph. 1:14.
The holy Spirit now granted to the Church is the earnest or foretaste of our inheritance. What are we to inherit? We are to "inherit all things." First of all we are to inherit the Divine nature, and secondly, we are to inherit the great Abrahamic promise that through us, in union with our Lord Jesus, as members of his Body, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. We speak of ourselves as being of the Lord's purchased possession, and when we are changed to receive his glory, this part of his possession will be complete and we shall be perfected with him and be under his direct control.
After this another feature of the same possession, and linked in as part of this same promise, will become [R4634 : page 202] operative. The precious blood will then be applied to seal the New Covenant on behalf of the sins of all the people and the work of recovering the still larger possession will progress until the close of the Millennial Age, when the whole possession will have been brought into line and everything subjected to his rule and turned over to the Father.
We will also consider the passage, "For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Christ Jesus, hath abounded unto many." – Rom. 5:15.
In this text the Apostle evidently does not mean to be understood as saying that the full abundance of grace had then reached the many, because that would be an untruth. It is now 1,800 years since the Apostle's day, and the abundance of grace has not yet reached the majority of men. So we must understand him to mean that this abundance of grace that is in Christ according to the Father's plan and arrangement and purpose, is yet to reach the many. The world is yet in its sins, and Israel is yet in its sins and will not be recovered until after the Church shall have been glorified, as the Apostle says (Romans 11:27), "For this is my Covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins."
Since this grace has not yet gone to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles in general, the only way in which it has abounded is through the promise of God that the death of Christ will yet be made efficacious for all. Therefore, speaking from this prophetic standpoint, it is plain to be seen how Jesus is the Savior of the world, although he has not yet finished the work of saving the Church and will not do so until the end of this Age. Similarly he will not be the Savior of the world in the full sense until the end of the Millennial Age. Some he will never save, because they will refuse the grace of God; and yet he is, according to the Scriptures, the Savior of all men – the Savior of the world.
He was the Savior of the world, according to the Scriptures, when he was born. The message of the angels was, "Unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." He was a Savior in the prospective sense – not because of what he was then, as a babe, and not merely because of what he has yet accomplished, but because, according to God's promise, of what he will effect up to the time when he shall deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father. "He is a Savior and a great one," "able to save unto the uttermost all that will come unto the Father through him." (Isa. 19:20; Heb. 7:25.) He is now saving us in a partial sense, by hope, because we have come unto the Father through him, according to the arrangement of this Gospel Age. He will yet save us in the fullest sense in the "First Resurrection." The saving of the world will then begin, when he shall awaken them from death; but they will not be fully saved, will not attain full restitution nor gain eternal life, except as they shall exercise faith and obedience. He opens the door. He makes the way. He provides all the arrangements by which they may know and obey.
The whole earth is a part of the purchased possession and shall be filled with the glory of God. And if any knee will then refuse to bow and any tongue refuse to confess and any fail to accept of the favor of God, there will be nothing further for him. He will be doing "despite to the spirit of grace" and will die the "Second Death." – Heb. 10:29; Jude 12.
The fact that most of the "seed" of the Divine message seems wasted is no proof that the message is not good and desirable. This parable shows that the real fault lies in the soil – in the heart. If all hearts were right the message or seed would bring forth much fruit everywhere.
The parable states that not all of the soil is good or suitable, nevertheless, the intimation is that it is within the power of many to correct and offset the unfavorable conditions in themselves. We are not left to conjecture, for this is one of the few parables which our Lord himself interpreted – a fact which many seem not to have noticed.
The "seed" is the message of the Kingdom. Many do not understand it. On such ears the message is lost, for the Adversary is on the alert to take it away, symbolized by the birds devouring the exposed "seed by the wayside." [R4635 : page 202] Such "wayside" hearers constitute the most numerous class in every congregation of the nominal church. They are merely formalists.
"Stony" ground represents another class of hearers of the Kingdom message. To them it sounds good; they are interested, but they lack depth of character. They make professions and for a time flourish extraordinarily, but they lack the depth necessary to a character development suitable for the Lord's use in the work of the Kingdom, and when the trials and testings come they stumble. They thought they might be carried to the Kingdom on "flowery beds of ease," while "others fight to win the prize and sail through bloody seas." There is no easy road to the Kingdom. The Master declares to all who would be of the elect "Bride," "Through much tribulation shall ye enter the Kingdom."
The ground which will produce thorns is rich and very suitable for the production of proper Christian character, but it is infested with thorn seed and the soil cannot successfully produce both wheat and thorns; hence, as the parable shows, the thorns choke out the wheat so that [R4635 : page 203] a sufficient crop is not produced. These thorns are not, as some have suggested, sensual vices and criminal appetites. Hearts in which sensuality dominates have no ear whatever for the Kingdom message, and are not mentioned in the parable, which refers only to those who are no longer willing sinners, but who are walking outwardly in the way of righteousness. The Master's word is, "He that receiveth the seed among thorns is he that heareth the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becometh unfruitful." There are many noble people represented also by this portion of the parable. There are many who, if freed from the spirit of the world, from its ambitions and wealth and influence, its love of the good things of this life, would be very fruitful in righteousness. When we look about us and see the thrift and energy of many people of civilized lands, we say to ourselves, properly, if these lives were really turned into the way of the Lord and were rid of these earthly encumbrances, what grand, noble characters they would make. However, their strength, their energy, is absorbed by worldly affairs and cares, and they do not bring forth the fruitage demanded as the necessary qualification for the higher honors of a place with Christ in his Kingdom. The Master's message to such is, You cannot give your time and strength and influence to worldly matters and at the same time make your "calling and election sure" to a place with me in my Kingdom. Whoever would be my disciple, let him take up his cross and follow me. Where I am there shall my disciple be.
"Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit," said our Master. In this parable the good ground varies in its productiveness – thirty, sixty and an hundred fold. The larger the returns, the greater will be the Father's pleasure and the Savior's glory. Nor is the statement an extreme one, as some might suppose. The new "miracle wheat" sometimes produces more than two hundred grains from one. This parable seems to imply that the responsibility for the fruitfulness of the heart and life and character depends very greatly upon the individual and how he receives the message of the Kingdom. Those in whom the fruits will be the most abundant will be such as grasp the invitation most intelligently and earnestly. "He that heareth the word and understandeth it" and whose heart is in a condition of loyalty to God and who frees himself from hindrances and worldly ambitions and aspirations and, like the Apostle Paul, can say, "This one thing I do," will surely gain the Kingdom.
It is not sufficient that we hear the message of the Kingdom; it is not sufficient that we have good hearts or good intentions in respect to it; it is additionally necessary, as the Master says, that we should understand the Kingdom message; hence the need of Bible study. Intelligent people consider it very wise and proper that several years of study be devoted to preparation for the few years of earthly life. How much study, then, should be considered proper for our preparation for the eternal life and Kingdom blessings? The time and effort thus consumed in character development for the Kingdom are wisely spent, and the harvest of thirty, sixty or a hundred-fold illustrates the degree and intensity of our earnestness. The rewards in the Kingdom will also be proportionate. "As star differeth from star in glory, so shall it be in the resurrection of the dead." Varying degrees of glory in the Kingdom will be manifested, yet none will be acceptable to the Father who shall not have brought forth fruitage in good measure; the "well done" will never be pronounced if not merited.
The Master gave this parable to illustrate how error would be brought into the Church by Satan, and that the children produced by the error would in many respects resemble or counterfeit those produced by the truth. It was impossible for the Adversary to corrupt the seed of truth which Jesus and the Apostles sowed; neither was he allowed to interfere with the sowing of it, but he was permitted to over-sow it in the field and, if possible, to choke the wheat, and in a general way to deceive the outside world respecting the true character of the wheat – the children of the Kingdom.
We are to have in mind the Almighty power of God by which he could hinder Satan and prevent the accomplishment of his plans at any and all times. We are to remember that the Divine Plan of the Ages permits many things which God does not approve, but in his Word condemns. We are to remember that the Divine Plan spans several ages and that only the finished work will fully display the Divine Wisdom, Justice, Love and Power. We are to remember that, in the present time, God permits the wrath of demons and men to oppose his purposes, but only so far as he can and eventually will overrule these to his own glory and for the good of all in harmony with himself.
The parable represents the servants as asking whether or not the "tares" should be gathered out from the "wheat," and thus the enemy's work be destroyed. The answer is, No, because in so doing there would be such a commotion in the wheat field as to disturb all of the wheat – so intimately were the true and false associated – their roots intertwining in society, in the home, etc. Instead the Master declared that both should be allowed to grow together throughout the age until the harvest-time [R4635 : page 204] at the end of the age; then the "reapers" should be instructed concerning the gathering together and separating of the two classes. The wheat would then be gathered into the barn and the tares would be bundled for burning, to the end that none of the bad seed might affect the future crop.
At the special request of the disciples the Master interpreted this parable also. Jesus himself was the sower of the good seed of the Kingdom message. Satan was the sower of the crop of seed of false doctrines and deception. The "harvest" time will be the end of this age, just before the inauguration of the new age of Christ's Millennial Kingdom. The wheat class will be those counted fit to be associated with Christ in the glory of his Millennial Kingdom, and the gathering into the "barn" or garner represents the resurrection change which this wheat will experience. The Apostle explains this, saying: "It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown an animal (earthly) body, it is raised a spiritual (heavenly) body." This is the resurrection of the dead – the first resurrection. – I Cor. 15:43,44; Rev. 20:6.
The tare class is represented as being gathered out of the kingdom (vs. 41), in the sense that the Church at the present time is God's kingdom in embryo – in a state of progressive development or preparation for the glory and work of the future. All of the Kingdom class are fully consecrated to God and begotten of the Spirit with a view to their becoming Divine spirit beings in the resurrection. Others who are not thus spirit-begotten have no right to class themselves with the "wheat" nor to consider [R4636 : page 204] themselves heirs of the Kingdom. Their presence in the Church of Christ is out of order. They have been permitted to commingle with the wheat for centuries, but with the end of the age the dispensational change will come, incidental to the inauguration of the Millennium.
It would be a mistake to suppose that there are to be thieves and murderers of the baser sort among these offenders, but they include some whom the Apostle describes as doing the works of the flesh and the devil, namely, anger, malice, hatred, envy, strife. However, many "tares" are fine people of generous disposition, but not "New Creatures" in Christ Jesus. They are blame-worthy, not because of not being spirit-begotten, but because they are in the nominal church and posing as Christians. They are offensive in this sense in the Master's sight. Nor are they entirely to be blamed for thinking themselves Christians. They have been encouraged so to think and act by preachers and teachers, many of whom, like themselves, have no knowledge of the Kingdom nor of the spirit-begetting power which initiates into membership in it. The gathering of these into "bundles" – into lodges, societies, churches, sects, parties – will especially be an evidence of the "harvest" work in progress. The true are exhorted to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made them free, and that they come not into bondage to sects and parties. They are to avoid membership in "bundles," but stand in the full fellowship of all who are of the true "wheat" class.
The casting of these bundles into the furnace will mean their destruction, but we are in no sense to understand the furnace to be a literal one, nor the fire which will consume the tares to be a literal fire. The fire with which this age will end will be a great "time of trouble" foretold in the Scriptures as preceding and introducing the Millennial Kingdom – "A time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation." (Daniel 12:1). In that time of trouble the delusions which now make the tares think themselves to be the true "Church" will all be dissolved – they will all be reduced to their proper plane – the earthly plane – and recognize themselves as merely of the earth, earthy, and not in any sense members of the called-out, spirit-begotten, elect "Church of the living God."
Hearken now to the Master's words respecting the consummation of the Church's hope in the end of this age. He says, "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father"! "He that hath an ear to hear let him hear." Not every one has the hearing ear, but this is the Lord's message to those who have the proper attitude of heart – to all who have the ability to understand spiritual things. Let such understand that with the close of this age the Lord's saintly ones, irrespective of the earthly Church systems, will be associated with the Redeemer in the glory of his Millennial Kingdom and will shine forth as the sun for the blessing and enlightenment and uplifting of the human family.
Golden Text: – "The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost."
– Rom. 14:17.
As a mustard seed is very small, yet produces a large bush, so that the fowls of the air may lodge in its branches, so this illustrates how the gospel of the Kingdom would, from a small beginning, attain to a considerable size. Its size would not be great among the trees, but great among bushes or herbage. Thus the message of Christ received at first only by the poor and the few of Israel, has finally grown to such important dimensions that the fowls like to gather in its branches. But let us remember that the fowls, according to our Lord's interpretation of a previous parable, represent the servants of the Wicked One. So then the teaching of this parable would lead us to conclude that the Church of Christ, at one time, was so unimportant in the world that it was a shame and a dishonor to belong to it, but that ultimately it would become honorable and great and the Adversary's servants would have pleasure in its shade. This development the Scriptures represent as being Babylon, declaring that, as a whole, with the various branches and denominations, the nominal Church of Christ is [R4636 : page 205] Babylonish. Hearken to the Lord's words; "She has become the hold of every foul spirit and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird." The intimation is that there is a large outward development of the Church which is not to her advantage and glory but contrariwise. Nevertheless, this is, nominally, the Church of Christ. However his spirit may have been misrepresented and there may have been an improper development, ultimately the great Head of the Church will bring order out of chaos and confusion and will glorify and use his "elect."
The parable of the "leaven" (v. 33) illustrates the process by which, as was foretold, the Church would get into the wrong condition. As a woman would take her batch of flour for baking and put leaven (yeast) in it and the result would be that the mass would become leavened, so it would be with the Church of Christ; the food of the entire household would become leavened or corrupted. Every portion would become more or less vitiated with the leaven of false doctrines which would permeate the entire mass. Thus today nearly every doctrine inculcated by Jesus and his Apostles has become more or less perverted or twisted by the errors of the dark ages.
The desirability of obtaining joint-heirship with Christ in his Millennial Kingdom, is pictured in the parable of "the treasure hidden in the field." The finder, realizing its value, desired it for himself and had such faith in it that he disposed of all of his property in order to buy that field, which he believed to contain the precious treasure. Only those who will appreciate the Gospel message will gain its glorious promises. If we love the present life with its joys and prospects, its hopes and ambitions, then we will labor for these, but if we intelligently hear and, by faith, believe the Gospel offer of this age of a share with Christ in his Millennial Kingdom, then in proportion to our faith and appreciation will be our self-sacrificing zeal to attain that prize. Whoever believes the message of the Kingdom will find his faith an inspiration, indeed a necessary inspiration, to the attainment of the prize, for it will cost all that he has of earthly blessings; and unless he has faith that he will find the prize, he will surely be unwilling to sacrifice all he has for it. The field belongs to God. He has put the treasure there. He offers it for sale to any willing to pay the price. The buyer is the Lord and those who accept his invitation to join with him in the sacrifice of their earthly interests that they may be sharers with him in his heavenly glories – in the work of the Millennial Age, to unearth all that treasure in the blessing of the world of mankind. The hiding of the treasure is necessary; as our Lord said, "Cast not your pearls before swine"; they will not understand you, they will think you foolish, and in their disappointment may do you injury. "Hast thou faith, have it to thyself before God." Make your sacrifice of earthly things to him and he who seeth in secret will reward you openly.
Pearls were much more in vogue in ancient times than now. Pearl buyers traded in these gems and carried them to the market, where they were highly estimated. The parable represents one of these pearl merchants as coming across the finest pearl he had ever seen. He considered it so priceless that he was quite rejoiced to sell or trade all of his other pearls and property that he might become the owner of that pearl.
This parable represents the Gospel offer of a share with Christ in his Kingdom as being superior to all other propositions of the world. The honor of the world, of name and fame, position and wealth, are indeed desirable; as the Scriptures say, "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches"; but when our eyes behold "the pearl of great price," the Kingdom offer of joint-heirship with our Lord Jesus in his heavenly glory and the association with him in his work of blessing all the families of the earth, we realize that this is a priceless thing, worth more by far than all the honors and dignities and pleasures of the world. Those worthy to buy this pearl will gladly exchange all earthly things therefor – even their good name, and this will be necessary, as the Master forewarned them, saying, "they shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake; rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you." [R4637 : page 205] (Matthew 5:11,12). He that is not willing to have the Kingdom at such a cost is not worthy of the Kingdom. The Apostle has said, "Through much tribulation must we enter the Kingdom" (Acts 14:22); and only those who willingly endure such tribulations for righteousness' sake – for the sake of the truth, in obedience to the Heavenly calling – are overcomers. And only to the "overcomers" has the Lord given "the exceeding great and precious promises." "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne." – Rev. 3:21.
Another parable of the Kingdom represents the gospel message as a "net." Only one kind of fish is desired, but the net gathers every kind. Not every kind will inherit the Kingdom as joint-heirs with Christ Jesus, hence the end of this age will be a sifting, separating time, as represented in the parable. The desirable fish will be gathered into vessels, the remainder will be cast back into the sea as unfit for the Kingdom, but not necessarily unfit for any purpose. During Christ's Millennial reign that class unfit for the Kingdom will be dealt with and blessed and, if possible, made useful and fit for eternal life.
Here, as in the parable of the wheat and the tares, the furnace of fire, and the weeping and gnashing of teeth in connection therewith, symbolizes the great time of trouble with which this age will end, giving place to the Millennial Kingdom, the Kingdom for the establishment of which upon the earth the Church has been praying so unceasingly for nineteen centuries, "Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven." What a Kingdom that will be! It will be a Kingdom entrusted to a "Little Flock" – "Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom" – and it will be fully empowered to establish the rule of heaven among mankind!
Our study closes with the Lord's exhortation that all who are instructed respecting the things pertaining to the Kingdom should set their affairs in order.
When he came to the time of his death he did not make application of his merit in advance, saying, "I do this for such a purpose and such a thing, and I apply whatever merit there is in my obedience to such a purpose." He did nothing of the kind. There was no such application made. When we speak of Christ's death as the Ransom-Price for the sins of the whole world; when we say that "he gave himself a Ransom for all," we are taking into consideration other features of the Divine arrangement by which it will be possible for the Lord Jesus to apply the merit of that sacrifice on behalf of the world of mankind as their Ransom-Price. This will be accomplished in its due time. (I Tim. 2:5,6.) It was not accomplished when he died, but was to be accomplished subsequently.
After our Lord had manifested his obedience even unto death, the Father was well pleased to fulfil to him all and more than he had ever intimated or promised. Hence he raised him from the dead – not in the same condition in which he was previously – a man – but in the glorious condition of the divine nature, "far above angels, principalities and powers and every name that is named." It would have been possible for the Father to restore our Lord Jesus to the earthly nature; but that would not have been, as we understand it, in keeping with his promise that there would be a special reward for this special obedience – "the joy that was set before him."
When our Lord Jesus, therefore, was raised from the dead by the Father on the third day, to this glorious nature which he now possesses – so much better than the earthly condition – he had a right also to the earthly nature. He would not, of course, have thought of exchanging the higher condition for the earthly condition; and especially since such a change would frustrate the entire plan of God. To explain: Suppose our Lord Jesus, having been raised from the dead to the glory of the Father, to the divine nature, had said, "Father, I greatly appreciate your kindness and favor towards me in thus highly exalting me; but now I prefer the human nature." If we could imagine his saying such a thing, we cannot see but that he would have had the right to it, as he had never forfeited his human life. He merely laid it down. He submitted himself in obedience to God; and if in his resurrection he had preferred the earthly nature, it would have been entirely proper that he have it back again. But to have taken it back would have been to undo all the work he had started out to do. He would thus have given away the heavenly nature, which was far more desirable, and respecting which he himself said, "Father, glorify me with the glory that I had with thee before the world was." He would in this way have ignored not only his own expressed preference in the matter, but also the Divine Plan, order and arrangement, as it was God's will that he should have this high nature and that he should also have the right to earthly life, the earthly nature, that he might bestow the earthly nature, with all of its rights and privileges, as the "Ransom," or Corresponding Price, for Adam's forfeited life and all of its earthly privileges.
Actually our Lord has not yet ransomed all, but he gave himself, in the sense of performing the sacrifice, more than 1800 years ago. But he has not yet applied the merit as the Ransom-Price for all the world. What is he doing with the Ransom-Price all this time? The Ransom-Price was placed into the hands of the Father. When Jesus died he said, "Into thy hands I commit my spirit." The Lord Jesus, therefore, as the Great Messiah, has the right to all those things which he intends to bestow upon the whole world of mankind – Adam and all his race. He will give them all the opportunity of becoming people of God. What is he doing with the merit in the meantime? He is imputing it to any individual from amongst Adam's race who desires to come into full relationship with the Father, on condition that such individual follow in his footsteps and lay down his earthly life as he laid his down. To each one of this kind, who comes to him, the Lord imputes his merit at the moment he makes his consecration to sacrifice, and this imputation of the Lord's merit makes him acceptable with the Father, who begets him as a New Creature. Thenceforth such are New Creatures, and their earthly life is given up as Jesus' life was given up – in sacrifice. All of these, therefore, who are now invited to come under this special arrangement through the use of the merit of Christ's death, come under the imputation of that merit, not the bestowment of it.
There is a difference between imputing the merit and bestowing it. For instance, if we hand you $100 we bestow $100 upon you, passing it directly to you. But if we endorse your note for $100 we are imputing to you $100. In the case of the Church it is an imputation; there is actually no passing of the merit over. What our Lord has to give is the right to human life, the human privileges which were Adam's originally and which he lost – all that he had. That right to human life our Lord has to give away, but he is not giving it away now. He is keeping it to give to the world in due time. He is now [R4638 : page 206] merely imputing to us the merit, or that which corresponds to the endorsement of our contract with the heavenly Father, if we desire to enter into such a contract.
Coming back to the statement made foregoing, that this merit is to be given on behalf of the world, we [R4638 : page 207] should qualify it and say that the merit is not to be given for the whole world, but merely, as the Scriptures outline, "for all the people." "The people," however, are not the entire world, but all who will come into Covenant relationship with God during the period of the Great Mediatorial Kingdom. These are the only people for whom the merit will be applied. Whoever will reject this opportunity and refuse to become one of the people, rejects all the opportunities that are to be granted and does not, therefore, receive restitution to human life. Such are not made perfect. They do not get human rights at all. They will receive an awakening from death, but this will not be Restitution. This will be merely the first step from which they may, if they choose, take the further steps leading to the Restitution blessings. "It will come to pass that the soul that will not obey" that Great Mediator, that Great Prophet, Priest and King, the great "Prophet like unto Moses raised up from amongst your brethren" – of which Jesus is the Head and the Church of this Gospel Age are his Members – "the soul that will not obey that Prophet shall be destroyed from amongst the people." – Acts 3:19-21.
This is in harmony with the Scripture to the effect that "he that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him," continues on him; he never gets out from under the wrath of God. He had the opportunity; he was brought to a knowledge of the Truth; he was brought to the place where it was his privilege to come under the arrangement of the New Covenant blessings which will be extended to all through Israel. But if he fails to make use of that opportunity and to become one of God's people, then he does not get out from under the wrath at all. He dies under the original wrath of God and without going to the end of the Millennial Age – without becoming one of the restored ones.
I happened to come across one of your tracts for April, 1909, and was intensely interested in the article, "Where Are the Dead?" It set me to thinking and to reading the Bible as I never did before. Finally I got my husband to read the tract and he said he would like to hear that man preach. That was a great deal for him to say, for he has no use for Churches and preachers in general. He is a good man indeed; as he often says, his life is superior to that of many Church members, some of whom go to Church just for style, and through habit and because their forefathers did. He says he would like to have you send your paper and he would read the sermon every Sunday, which he thinks would be better than going to Church.
I am so thankful to God that my husband is at last interested in the things of the future. His dear, sainted sister once said to him that he was too good not to obtain heaven and that she would pray for him constantly. What he wants and I want is the Truth – not the varied opinions of men, and I know we can get it by searching the Scriptures. He is now even reading the Bible, which he says he never did before. As for me, I have always been a regular attendant at Church, being a member of the Presbyterian Church, as are all of my folks. As to having the holy Spirit really within me, I know I have not. I don't think I have ever grasped the fundamental Truth as yet. I have always believed that our beloved dead were in heaven, but as you say they are not judged yet, and how can they be there? Please send your paper to us. I understand it is twelve cents, but if it is more I will send it to you.
Yours very truly for the truth,
DEAR SIR: –
Please send me the PEOPLES PULPIT. I have just been handed a copy of "Where Are the Dead?" I have read it and have become very much interested in your good work. Please send me a copy of the "Thief in Paradise." Find enclosed 12 cents for a year's subscription.
Yours truly,
GENTLEMEN: –
A copy of the PEOPLES PULPIT was handed to me last night. I cannot tell you in writing how I enjoyed reading it. Will you kindly forward me the sermons, "Where Are the Dead?" "Thieves in Paradise," and "The Rich Man in Hell." Would also like to receive the six series of "Studies in the Scriptures," as it has not been my good fortune to receive them. Will send 12 cents in the near future for PEOPLES PULPIT. May God prosper you.
Very respectfully yours,
DEAR SIRS: –
I found advertisement copy of PEOPLES PULPIT in our letter-box. I would like to have some of the books you speak of. I will subscribe for your paper later. I should like to know if you believe Calvinism to be true. Hoping to hear from you soon, I am,
Truly yours,
DEAR FRIENDS: –
I was handed one of your papers, PEOPLES PULPIT, which I prize very much for its explanations of the Scripture. Please find enclosed 12 cents for one year's subscription.
Yours very truly,
GENTLEMEN: –
Your monthly paper, bearing the name PEOPLES PULPIT, came into my hands Sunday morning. I read it through carefully, as it treated of a subject that must greatly interest all thoughtful people. I should like very much to read the subjects enclosed. Please find enclosed 12 cents to pay for subscription.
Yours sincerely,
By cable we learn that Brother John Edgar underwent a surgical operation which has resulted in his death. We trust for him that he has passed beyond the Second Vail and is now with the Master in glory. He was a dear, humble, faithful brother, whom we greatly loved. His dear family have our sympathy, but we know that they sorrow not as others who have no such hopes as those which buoy us up. The cablegram says that he passed away peacefully, a grand witness to the Truth. He fought a good fight. He kept the faith. He surely finished his work. We hope for him a crown.